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. 2022 Sep 7:15:2771-2780.
doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S377404. eCollection 2022.

Effect of Silibinin on Dyslipidemia and Glycemic Alteration Associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: An Experimental Study on Rats

Bushra Hassan Marouf  1
Affiliations

Effect of Silibinin on Dyslipidemia and Glycemic Alteration Associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: An Experimental Study on Rats

Bushra Hassan Marouf. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. .

Abstract

Purpose: Females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are found to have hormonal and metabolic alterations. This study investigated the efficacy of the flavonolignan silibinin in restoring the metabolic alterations associated with letrozole-induced PCOS in rats.

Methods: The study allocated 42 albino rats into two groups. The first group was a normal control group (n=12) in which only the vehicle was given. The second group, the PCOS group (n=30), received letrozole (1 mg/kg/day) orally for 21 days. On day 21, six animals from the first group and six animals from the second group were sacrificed to confirm the development of PCOS, and the rest of the animals (n=24) in the second group were distributed equally into four groups: the PCOS group received vehicle, the metformin (MET) group received 300 mg/kg metformin orally, and the low-dose silibinin (LD-100) and high-dose silibinin (HD-200) groups received 100 and 200 mg/kg silibinin intraperitoneally, respectively. Blockade of the estrus cycle in the diestrus phase, hyperglycemia, and body weight elevation were related to a positive PCOS induction. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was also carried out for all animals on day 21 and on the last day of the experiment (day 40) to investigate the effect of silibinin on insulin resistance. The rats' lipid profile, insulin level, estrus cycle patterns, body weight, and weights of the ovaries and uterus were also measured on day 40.

Results: A 19-day silibinin treatment led to the restoration of regular estrus cyclicity, reduced the glucose spike in OGTT analysis, and alleviated insulin resistance in PCOS rats. There was a statistically non-significant decrement in insulin level and lipid profile in the treatment groups.

Conclusion: Silibinin flavonolignan ameliorated some metabolic and reproductive alterations associated with PCOS. This could be related to the decreased insulin resistance, and antiandrogenic and phytoestrogenic activity of silibinin. Further study with longer term therapy is recommended to clarify more potential effects of silibinin and its mechanism of action in PCOS.

Keywords: impaired glucose tolerance; lipid profile; metabolic alteration; silibinin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the study design.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Vaginal cytology of rats showing phases of the estrus cycle with the cell type characterized as: (A) proestrus: consists of a predominance of nucleated epithelial cells; (B) estrus: cornified squamous epithelial cells; (C) metestrus: consists of mixed cells of leukocytes, nucleated cells (few), and cornified squamous epithelial cells; (D) diestrus: leukocytes are predominant.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of silibinin on oral glucose tolerance test on (A) day 21 and (B) day 40.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of silibinin on serum insulin level on day 40.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of silibinin on lipid profile on day 40, including serum (A) cholesterol, (B) triglyceride, (C) low-density lipoprotein, (D) high-density lipoprotein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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