Combined Effects of Plant Extracts on Ovarian Cell Functioning

Ovarian granulosa cell (GC) functions decide the fate of an ovarian follicle to establish fecundity and regular ovarian cycle. Literature depicts the combined effects of two or more herbal components are likely to be more prominent than the effect of a single ingredient. Based on this, the current study was designed to evaluate the combined effects of aqueous extract (RA) of Ricinus communis L. and curcumin (Cur) of Curcuma longa L., ethnopharmacologically reputed plants and porcine ovarian granulosa cell functions, in vitro. Cytotoxicity was determined by using real-time cell analyser. Combination ofAQ+Cur enhanced cyclin-B1 accumulation at low concentrations and significantly upregulated caspase-3 accumulation, evaluated by immunocytochemistry, and significantly decreased progesterone (P4) and inhibited testosterone (T) release, as determined by the enzyme immunoassay. The resulted observations suggested the possible combined effect of AQ and Cur on GC cell functions via steroid output.