EFFECTS OF BITTER LEAF (Vernonia Amygdalina) ON THE SERUM ESTROGEN LEVEL

ABSTRACT

Vernonia amygdalina commonly known as bitter leaf is a very common, affordable and widely available shrub, which has been reported to have the potential to be used as a natural therapy for females with menopausal symptoms and conditions associated with low estrogen level. Several studies have been done to check for the effects of bitter leaf on serum estrogen level, but there is a discrepancy between the several studies that have been done. Some studies found out that, bitter leaf causes increase in serum estrogen level, some found out that it causes decrease in estrogen level while some found no significant changes at all. The aim of this study was to investigate, the effect of bitter leaf on estrogen level in serum. Fifteen (15) healthy female albino wistar rats which weighed between 120-200g, were used for this study. They were grouped into two groups of 5 control and 10 tests.The control group was only given food and water, while the test group was further divided into two, group 2 and group 3. Group 2 was administered with low dosage of aqueous bitter leaf extract while group 3 was administered with high dose of bitter leaf extract. Their blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture after 4 weeks of administration, and centrifuged to get the serum, which was taken to the laboratory for hormonal assay. The results showed that, there was a significant change in estrogen levels of the test group of animals compared to the control group. In conclusion, it was discovered after this study that, aqueous extract of bitter leaf (Vernonia Amygdalina) caused increase in the serum estrogen level of the female rats at the lower dosage, but caused a decrease in the serum estrogen level at a higher dosage.