College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea.
Herbal Medicine Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Korea.
Nutrients. 2018 Oct 4;10(10):1430. doi: 10.3390/nu10101430.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine, metabolic, and systemic disease. It is mainly characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligomenorrhea, and high levels of luteinizing hormone (LH). There is no obvious therapy for PCOS, so patients have received symptomatic therapy. Welsh onion () is well-known in Asian countries for its usage in food ingredients and traditional medicines. It is also studied for its many effects. These include activation of immune responses, antihypertensive effects, and antioxidant effects. Using letrozole-induced PCOS rats, we focused on herbal therapy using extract of (AF; ) roots to improve ovarian functions. As a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, letrozole blocks conversion of testosterone to estrogen and subsequently induces PCOS phenomenon. We divided six-week-old female rats into four groups, including control, letrozole, letrozole + AF extract, and temporary letrozole groups. In our study, treatment with AF extract shows a low plasma LH/FSH ratio, and reveals high estrogen levels, ovarian morphology, folliculogenesis-related genes, and aromatase expression under PCOS mimic conditions. We concluded that AF extract administration influenced aromatase production, enhanced the estrogen steroid synthesis, and consequently restored the estrogenic feedback mechanism on the pituitary-ovary system.
多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）是一种内分泌、代谢和系统性疾病。它主要表现为高雄激素血症、月经稀少和黄体生成素（LH）水平升高。目前 PCOS 尚无明显的治疗方法，因此患者接受对症治疗。葱（）在亚洲国家因其作为食品成分和传统药物的用途而广为人知。它也因其许多作用而受到研究。这些作用包括激活免疫反应、降压作用和抗氧化作用。我们使用来曲唑诱导的 PCOS 大鼠，专注于使用根提取物进行草药治疗，以改善卵巢功能。来曲唑作为一种非甾体芳香化酶抑制剂，可阻止睾酮转化为雌激素，从而导致 PCOS 现象。我们将六周龄雌性大鼠分为四组，包括对照组、来曲唑组、来曲唑+AF 提取物组和临时来曲唑组。在我们的研究中，AF 提取物的治疗显示出较低的血浆 LH/FSH 比值，并显示出在 PCOS 模拟条件下较高的雌激素水平、卵巢形态、卵泡发生相关基因和芳香酶表达。我们得出结论，AF 提取物的给药影响了芳香酶的产生，增强了雌激素类固醇的合成，从而恢复了垂体-卵巢系统的雌激素反馈机制。
