Abstract
Background:
Uterine fibroids are benign (non-cancerous) tumours th
at develop in the uterus [1,2].
They have been and still are a major reproductive thr
eat to women of child-bearing age especially
to those of the African race [3,4]. Ginger has been r
eported to have anti-tumor, anti-cancerous,
anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects [5]
Aim:
To determine the effects of aqueous ginger extract
on Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)-
induced uterine fibroid in adult female wistar rats.
Study Design:
The present study involved the administration of Mon
osodium Glutamate (MSG) to
induce uterine fibroid and the preventive and curativ
e effects of aqueous ginger extract on this as
seen physically, gross morphologically and histologica
lly. While hormonal measures were carried
out to assess the effects of MSG in inducing uterine fi
broid in the adult female wistar rats;
molecular, macroscopic and microscopic parameters, am
ongst others, were assessed to evaluate
the effects of ginger extract as a preventive and/or cur
ative agent.
Place and Duration of Study:
Department of Anatomy, Benjamin S. Carson (Snr.) Sc
hool of
Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun Stat
e, Nigeria between January 2017 and May
2017.
Methodology:
Acclimatization lasted 10 days, after which oral adm
inistration of Monosodium
Glutamate (MSG) and Aqueous ginger extract ensued to
determine the prophylactic (Ginger
extract for 25 days, followed by MSG for 25 days) and
curative (MSG for 25 days, followed by
ginger extract for 25 days) effects of ginger on MSG-in
duced uterine fibroid in adult female wistar
rats. Administration lasted 50 days, after which the ex
perimental animals were sacrificed via
cervical dislocation, gross anatomical images were capt
ured, uteri specimens were weighed, fixed
in 10% formal saline for histological analysis, and
molecular studies were also carried out on the
uterus to assay Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2).
Results:
Uterus of induced animals showed abnormal gross morph
ology (i.e., uterine fibroid),
histology, abnormally high MMP2 levels, increased weig
ht; however the prophylactic and high-
dosed curative treatment with ginger extracts mitigat
ed these effects, i.e., ginger extract both
prevented the onset of fibroid and ameliorated the
effects of MSG thereby reducing fibroid volume.
Conclusion:
The results of this study suggests that ginger can be
used as a preventive and
curative agent against uterine fibroid and may offer
a non-surgical therapy of treating women with
fibroids, whilst contributing greatly to knowledge
