Vet World   Vol.15   May-2022  Article-7

Potential use of Indonesian basil (Ocimum basilicum) maceration to increase estradiol and progesterone synthesis and secretion to improve prenatal growth of offspring using female albino rats as an animal model

Background and Aim: Basil is well known as a medicinal plant that contains high essential oils and antioxidant compounds that have the potential to improve ovarian development. Thus, basil may have the potential to improve the growth and development of the uterus and placenta for optimal prenatal growth of offspring. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Indonesian basil maceration on gonad development of mature female albino rats.

Materials and Methods: Fifteen 8-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats, at the diestrus stage of the estrus cycle, were divided into three different treatment groups: Control group (mineral water), bas-low group (1% of basil maceration), and bas-high group (5% of basil maceration). Basil maceration was dissolved and administered in mineral drinking water, and the treatments were given for 20 days (4 estrus cycles). At the end of the treatment period, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, and progesterone (Pg) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relative weight of the ovary and uterus; diameter and length of uterine cornual; vascularization of uterus; the diameter of uterine glands; the number of primary, secondary, and tertiary de Graaf follicles; the number of corpora luteum; as well as the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the ovary were determined.

Results: There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the serum FSH level of rats treated with basil maceration drinking water doses of 1% and 5% compared to the control group. However, serum estradiol and Pg concentrations in the 1% and 5% basil maceration groups were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of the control group. Furthermore, 1% and 5% basil maceration significantly increased the uterus's relative weight, diameter, and vascularization. Serum estradiol concentrations contributed to the elevated expression of VEGF compared to Pg.

Conclusion: Administration of basil maceration for 20 days before mating could improve follicle growth and development, eventually increasing estradiol synthesis and secretion, thus improving the uterus's preparation for implantation. This makes basil maceration an attractive candidate in clinical research to enhance the growth and development of the uterus and placenta, which will better support the optimum prenatal growth and development of embryos and fetuses, resulting in superior offspring. Keywords: Indonesian basil, rat, reproductive system.

Keywords: Indonesian basil, rat, reproductive system.

How to cite this article: Andriyanto A, Widi LN, Subangkit M, Tarigan E, Irarang Y, Nengsih RF, Manalu W (2022) Potential use of Indonesian basil (Ocimum basilicum) maceration to increase estradiol and progesterone synthesis and secretion to improve prenatal growth of offspring using female albino rats as an animal model, Veterinary World, 15(5): 1197-1207.

Received: 16-11-2021  Accepted: 24-03-2022     Published online: 18-05-2022

Corresponding author: Wasmen Manalu   E-mail: wasmenmanalu@ymail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1197-1207

Copyright: Andriyanto, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.