Phytochemical analysis, in silico study and toxicity profile ofCycas pectinataBuch.-Ham seed in mice

Effect of Cycas pectinata Seed Extract on Testicular Steroidogenesis in a Mouse Model

“…Our results showed that CPE upregulated the expression of testicular StAR, and this finding also suggests that phytochemicals of CPE might regulate the testicular steroidogenesis by stimulating cholesterol in the mitochondria. However, our in silico study has shown the cholesterol antagonist activity of CPE phytocompounds [6]; this discrepancy in the finding could be due to other factors that might be involved in the in vivo conditions. It should also be noted that findings of in silico studies may not be always similar to in vivo conditions.…”

“…Based on the information collected from the local people and traditional practitioners of herbal drugs, it could be suggested that the seed of C. pectinata might influence testicular steroid production via modulating Leydig cell steroidogenic pathways. Our recent report on seed extract of C. pectinata suggested some biological functions of the extract such as antioxidant, antineoplastic activity, and most importantly, the cholesterol antagonist activity and agonist of testosterone 17β-dehydrogenase, which plays a major role in steroid biosynthetic pathways [6]. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the effect of C. pectinata on steroidogenic activity.…”

“…Some studies have also shown that the methanolic extract of C. pectinata leaves showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties [5] whereas C. pectinata fruit extract possesses antidiabetic properties, having amentoflavone and 2,3-dihydroamentoflavone [4]. In a recent study, we have shown that crude seed extract of C. pectinata has a variety of phytochemical compounds (32 phytochemicals) with certain biological activities [6].…”

“…Therefore, the present study is aimed at investigating the effects of CPE on testicular steroid production by in vivo and in vitro approaches along with the possible interaction of different phytochemicals of CPE with markers of steroidogenesis utilizing molecular docking study. Cycas pectinata seed extract (CPE) was prepared following the method described earlier [6]. Briefly, fresh seeds of C. pectinata were washed with water, chopped into pieces, dried at room temperature, and powdered using an electrical blender.…”

“…Briefly, 100 g of C. pectinata seed powder was added to 500 ml of methanol on a clean beaker and soaked for 3 days by occasional shaking and stirring at room temperature. The extract was filtered using Whatman filter paper (Grade 1 Male mice (n = 15) were randomly allocated to three groups of five animals each, the extract was suspended in sterile distilled water and administered orally with the help of an oral gavage: Group I, distilled water-treated control and Groups II and III, administration of CPE 100 and 400 mg/kg of body weight, respectively, which was considered to be the safest dose as per the subacute toxicity test based on our previous study [6]. The treatment duration was for 35 days because the duration of one spermatogenic 3 Andrologia cycle is 35 days in mice.…”