Studies on reproductive pathology and teratogenic effects in experimentally induced hypothyroidism in Sprague Dawley rats and amelioration with Withania Somnifera and Shilajit Ramya B.1,*, Kumar Anand A.2,**, Reddy Gopala A.3, Purushotham G.4, Shivakumar P.5 1Veterinary Pathology, VCC, College of Veterinary Science, Mamnoor-506 001 2Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati-517 502 3PV Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University, Hyderbad-500 030 4College of Veterinary Science, Mamnoor, PV Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University, Telangana-506 001 5Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, AHP, Mamnoor-506 166 *Address for Correspondence Ramya B., Assistant Professor, Veterinary Pathology, VCC, College of Veterinary Science, Mamnoor-506 001, India, E-mail: drramyavet@gmail.com
**Anand A. Kumar, Professor and Head, Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati-517 502, India, E-mail: 7aakumar@gmail.com
Online Published on 27 March, 2024. Abstract The experiment was conducted to study the reproductive pathology and teratogenic effects in methimazole induced hypothyroidism in rats and its amelioration. Twenty one days old weaned, female Sprague Dawley rats (96) were divided into 8 groups with 12 animals in each group. They were treated as Group 1: Euthyroid, Group 2: Hypothyroidism induced with methimazole @ 0.02%, Group 3: Hypothyroid + LT4, Group 4: Withania somnifera root extract control, Group 5: Hypothyroid + Withania somnifera root extract, Group 6: Shilajit control, Group 7: Hypothyroid + Shilajit and Group 8: Hypothyroid + Withania somnifera root extract + Shilajit, both @ 100 mg/Kg b. wt. At the end of 3 months, 6 rats from each group were sacrificed. Blood was collected to estimate thyroid profile and estrogen levels. Organs (thyroid, uterus and ovaries) were collected for histopathology studies. The remaining rats were mated with euthyroid adult males and all 48 pregnant rats were administered with treatments as above till the 17th day of gestation. Progesterone levels in pregnant dams and pup survival and mortality rates were estimated. Half of the pups from each group on zero day of their birth were preserved in 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF) for histopathology (whole pup as a unit) and skeletal staining was done to view the teratogenicity. The remaining half were reared for 21 days and were then sacrificed and various organs (uterus, testis and thyroid) were collected for histopathology studies. The sections of the thyroid gland, reproductive organs (parent stock and F1 generation) and visceral organs of the whole pup of group II rats revealed marked degenerative changes. Pups stained with Alizarin red S from group II showed skeletal deformities. The present study showed teratogenicity and deviations in reproductive organs in the hypothyroidism model and the usage of herbal drugs have shown improvement in alleviating the toxic effects of hypothyroidism. Top Keywords Histopathology, Hypothyroidism, Methimazole, Shilajit, Teratogenicity, Withania somnifera. Top |