Estrogenic Effect of Asparagus racemosus, Cissus quadrangularis, Punica granatum and Pueraria tuberosa in Post-menopausal Syndrome

Background: Asparagus racemosus, Cissus quadrangularis, Punica granatum and Pueraria tuberosa are employed for their supposed properties in treatment in alleviating symptoms of menopause traditionally from ages. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the estrogenic effect of Asparagus racemosus, Cissus quadrangularis, Punica granatum and Pueraria tuberosa in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Materials and Methods: Female wistar rats were divided into sham control and ovariectomized (OVX), OVX rats receiving standard drug, raloxifene (5.4 mg/kg) and groups treated with 500 mg/kg and 700 mg/kg of test drug (containing equal quantity of Asparagus racemosus, Pueraria tuberose, Cissus quadrangularis and Punica granatum extracts) daily for 90 days. The vaginal cornification, uterine weight, bone loss, biomechanical, biochemical and histopathological observation were carried out to ascertain the effect of test drug in post-menopausal syndrome. Results: The experimental animals treated with mixture of extract of four drugs showed dose dependent activity. The significant increase in uterine weight, femur BMD, femur hardness, was observed. In addition, increased levels of calcium and phosphorus in serum and significant decreased in urine were observed as compared to control OVX group. The histopathological results also confirm the protective effect of extracts. Conclusion: The present findings strongly suggest that Asparagus racemosus, Cissus quadrangularis, Punica granatum and Pueraria tuberosa possess the potent estrogenic activity in ovariectomized rats and substantiate the ethnic use in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.