ABSTRACT

Jatropha curcas is a muliti purpose plant species with many advantages. It belongs to the family euphociacaea which is been distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions. This study was designed to investigate the changes in hormonal response associated with oral administration of jatropha curcas in male wistar albino rat. Animals were divided into 3 groups and orally administered methanolic extract of J.0 was given at a high dose conc. Of 400mg/kg body weight to group 1 (0.4m1) and low dose conc. Of 200mg/kg body weight to group 2 (0.2m1) using insulin syringe respectively, while the 3"(control) group received distilled water only. For 2ldays. They were sacrificed at the end of 2ldays and blood sample was assayed for serum level of testosterone, FSH, LH, prolactin, progesterone and Estradiol respectively using ELISA method. The effect of J.0 on prolactin, LH, progesterone, Testosterone and Estradiol caused a non-significant (p>0.05)effect on the serum level of these hormones, while FSH showed a significant(p<0.05)effect on the serum level of the hormone. Furthermore, In this present study the oral administration of J.0 extract on the male wistar albino rat at a dose conc. Of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg body weight orally for 21 days produced a dose dependent toxic effect on the rats by virtue of a decrease in the percentage of weight loss from 210% -100%. >