Abstract
Tribulus terrestris is a traditionally known non-toxic aphrodisiac herb for maleness. It was experimented recently to understand the effect and mechanism on mono sex production in Poecilia latipinna. It would help to develop a new eco-friendly way to masculinize P. latipinna, since males have higher commercial value than females. The different concentration (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mg/L) of T. terrestris extract and a control were tested for their effect on sex transformation/reversal in P. latipinna by immersing the newly born young ones in the respective concentrations for 2 mo. The obtained results indicate that a dose dependant masculinization is obtained due to T. terrestris administration, which improved the male proportion. Histological results revealed that the testes of fish treated with T. terrestris extract contained all stages of spermatogenesis, clearly demonstrating that the administration of T. terrestris extract to P. latipinna stimulated spermatogenesis. Thus, it is discernible that 0-d-old hatchlings of P. latipinna exposed to T. terrestris extract orient/reverse their sex more towards maleness besides yielding better growth and spermatogenesis which is a mandate for fancy fish industry.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adaikan P. G.; Gauthaman K.; Prasad R. N. History of herbal medicines with insight on the pharmacological properties of Tribulus terrestris. Aging Male 4: 163–169; 2001.
Ahmed A.; Hussain Abbas A.; Mohammed Heba H.; Ibrahim Amir H.; Abbas H. Study the Biological activities of Tribulus terrestris extracts. World Acad. Sci. Eng. Technol. 57: 2009.
Antonio J.; Uelmen J.; Rodriguez R.; Earnest C. The effects of Tribulus terrestris on body composition and exercise performance in resistance-trained males. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 10: 208–215; 2000.
Arcasoy H. B.; Erenmemisoglu A.; Tekol Y.; Kurucu S.; Kartal M. Effect of Tribulus terrestris L. saponin mixture on some smooth muscle preparations: a preliminary study. Boll. Chim. Farm. 137: 473–475; 1998.
Bagenal T. B.; Braum E. Eggs and early life history. In: Ricker W. E. (ed) Methods for Assessment of Fish Production in Freshwaters. IBP Handbook No.3. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 157–181; 1968.
Blazer V. S.; Wolke R. E. Ceroid deposition, retinal degeneration and renal calcium oxalate crystals in culture clownfish. J. Fish Dis. 6: 365–376; 1983.
Brown G. A.; Vukovich M. D.; Martini E. R.; Kohut M. L.; Franke W. D.; Jackson D. A.; King D. S. Endocrine and lipid responses to chronic androstenediol—herbal supplementation in 30 to 58 year old men. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 20: 520–528; 2001.
Brown G. A.; Vukovich M. D.; Reifenrath T. A.; Uhl N. L.; Parsons K. A.; Sharp R. L.; King D. S. Effects of anabolic precursors on serum testosterone concentrations and adaptations to resistance training in young men. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 10: 340–359; 2000.
Cai L.; Wu Y.; Zhang J.; Pei F.; Xu Y.; Xie S.; Xu D. Steroidal saponins from Tribulus terrestris. Planta Med. 67: 196–198; 2001.
Cek S.; Turan F.; Atik E. The effects of gokshura, Tribulus terrestris on sex differentiation of guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Pak. J Biol Sci. 10(5): 718–725; 2007.
Conrad J.; Dinchev D.; Klaiber I.; Mika S.; Kostova I.; Kraus W. A novel furostanol saponin from Tribulus terrestris of Bulgarian origin. Fitoterapia 75: 117–122; 2004.
De Combarieu E.; Fuzzati N.; Lovati M.; Mercalli E. Furostanol saponins from Tribulus terrestris. Fitoterapia 74: 583–591; 2003.
Demska-Zakes K.; Zakes Z. Effect of 17α-methyl testosterone on gonadal differentiation in pikeperch, Stizostedion lucioperca L. Aquac. Res. 28: 59–63; 1997.
Dimitrov M.; Georgiev P.; Vitanov S. Use of Tribestan on rams with sexual disorders. Vet. Med. Nauki 24(5): 102–110; 1987.
Fishers L. Comparison of testes structure, spermatogenesis and spermatocytogenesis in young, aging and hybrid cichlid fish (Cichlidae, Teleostei). J. Morphol. 256(3): 285–300; 2003.
Ganzera M.; Bedir E.; Khan I. A. Determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and evaporative light scattering detection. J. Pharm. Sci. 90: 1752–1758; 2001.
Gauthaman K.; Adaikan P. G.; Prasad R. N. Aphrodisiac properties of Tribulus terrestris extract (Protodioscin) in normal and castrated rats. Life Sci. 71: 1385–1396; 2002.
Gauthaman K.; Ganesan A. P.; Prasad R. N. Sexual effects of puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) extract (protodioscin): an evaluation using a rat model. J. Altern. Complement. Med. 9: 257–265; 2003.
Georgiev P.; Dimitrov M.; Vitanov S. The effect of the preparation ‘Tribestan on the plasma concentration of testosterone and spermatogenesis of lambs and rams. Vet. Sb. 3: 20–22; 1988.
Grier H. J. Cellular organization of the testis and spermatogenesis in fishes. Am. Zool. 21: 345–357; 1981.
Huang J. W.; Tan C. H.; Jiang S. H.; Zhu D. Y. Terrestrinins A and B, two new steroid saponins from Tribulus terrestris. J. Asian Nat. Prod. Res. 5: 285–290; 2003.
Kavitha P.; Subramanian P. Influence of Tribulus terrestris on testicular enzyme in fresh water ornamental fish Poecilia latipinna. Fish Physiol. Biochem. 37: 801–807; 2011.
Khan I. A.; Thomas P. Lead and Arochlor disrupt reproductive neuroendocrine function in Atlantic croaker. Mar. Environ. Res. 50: 119–123; 2000.
Kohut M. L.; Thompson J. R.; Campbell J.; Brown G. A.; Vukovich M. D.; Jackson D. A.; King D. S. Ingestion of a dietary supplement containing dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione has minimal effect on immune function in middle-aged men. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 22: 363–371; 2003.
Manosroi J.; Etchjul K.; Manosroi A. Effect of fluoxymesterone fish feed granule on sex reversal of the hybrid, Thai red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linn. X Oreochromis mossambicus Linn). Asian Fish. Sci. 17: 3; 2004.
Meijide F. J.; Lo Nostro F. L.; Guerrero G. A. Gonadal development and sex differentiation in the cichlid fish Cichlasoma dimerus (Teleostei, perciformes): a light and electron-microscopy study. J. Morphol. 264(2): 191–210; 2005.
Murugesan A. G.; Hanifa M. A. Histopathological and histochemical changes in the oocytes of the airbreathing fish Heteropneustes fossilts (Bloch) exposed to texti1e mill effluent. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 48(6): 929–936; 1992.
Nakamura M. Dosage-dependent changes in the effect of oral administration of methyltestosterone on gonadal sex differentiation in Tilapia mossambica. Bull. Fac. Fish. Hokkaido Univ. 26: 99–108; 1975.
Nielson L. A.; Johnson D. L. Fisheries techniques. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, p 468; 1983.
Orn S.; Holbech H.; Madsen T. H.; Norrgren L.; Petersen G. I. Gonad development and vitellogenin production in zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to ethinylestrad and methyltestosterone. Aquat. Toxicol. 65: 397–411; 2003.
Pandian T. J.; Sheela S. G. Hormonal induction of sex reversal in fish. Aquaculture 138: 1–22; 1995.
Produce M.; Tsvetkov D.; Nalbanski B. Clinical trial of the preparation Tribestan in infertile men. Akush. Ginekol. 22(4): 326–329; 1983.
Seth S. D. Preliminary pharmacological investigations of Tribulus terrestris. Linn (Gokhru). Indian J. Med. Sci. 28(9): 377–380; 1974.
Somrudee S.; Pawapol K. Masculinization of flowerhorn by immersion in androgens. Silpakorn U Sci. Tech. J. 2:(2); 2008.
Sornaraj R. Impact of pesticides on the physiology and biochemistry of a fresh water fish. Ph.D. Thesis, Mononmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli. 120; 2000.
Zanuy S.; Carillo M.; Mateos J.; Trudeau V.; Kah O. Effects of sustained administration of testosterone in pre-pubertal sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.). Aquaculture 177: 21–35; 1999.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to record their thanks to UGC-Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship; the DST-FIST, UGC-SAP, and MoE&F for the Instrumentation facilities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editor: T. Okamoto
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kavitha, P., Ramesh, R. & Subramanian, P. Histopathological changes in Poecilia latipinna male gonad due to Tribulus terrestris administration. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 48, 306–312 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-012-9517-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-012-9517-9