The Effect of Alcoholic Extract of Physalis alkekengi on Serum Concentration of Thyroid Hormones in Rats

Abstract

Background: There are different factors which are effective on maintaining homeostasis, especially by pituitary-thyroid axis hormones. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of Physalis alkekengi plant extract belonging to Solanaceae family on the concentration of the pituitary-thyroid axis hormones.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on five groups (n=10) of male Wistar rats (with mean weight 210±5g). The control group did not receive any substances, while the reference group received 0.2 ml normal saline daily and the experimental groups received maximum (0.4 g/kg), moderate (0.2 g/kg), and minimum (0.1 g/kg) intraperitoneal (IP) doses of the alcoholic extract for 14 days. At the end of this period, blood samples were drawn and the results were analyzed by SPSS-11.5 software.Results: The results of statistical analysis showed significant increases in plasma concentrations of thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in the maximum dose group (p