Abstract:
The estrogenic effect of white kwao krua, Pueraria mirifica (PM), on serum and urinary gonadotropin and sex steroid hormone levels in adult cyclic and aged menopausal cynomolgus monkeys, as well as on serum PTH and calcium levels in aged menopausal monkeys was investigated. The cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicuiaris) were divided into 3 groups. Each group (n = 3) was fed with the 10, 100, and 1,000 mg of PM (PM-10, PM-100, and PM-1,000, respectively). The results showed that a single treatment of PM-1,000 prolonged the length of menstrual cycle, but did not change serum and urinary gonadotropins, estradiol, or progesterone levels. The long-term daily treatment of PM, for there menstrual cycles or 90 days, prolonged the length of menstrual cycle and stopped menstruation of adult cyclic monkeys. Long-term treatment of PM on adult cyclic and aged menopausal monkeys suppressed the serum levels of gonadotropins and sex steroid hormones during the treatment period, and the effect was recovered during the post-treatment period, except the case of PM-1,000 treatment, which the effect continued until the end of experiment (60 days after cessation of treatment). The effect of PM on levels of serum PTH and calcium levels depended on the dose in aged menopausal monkeys. The daily treatment of PM also suppressed the serum level of PTH and calcium in aged menopausal monkeys. Urinary FSH and estradiol levels were suppressed in adult cyclic monkeys by the treatment of PM-100 and PM-1,000 and in aged menopausal monkeys by all doses of PM. It is concluded that although the effect of PM can be recovered soon after the cessation of treatment in lower dose, the treatment by PM affected on not only reproductive organs but also bone-related organs.
