Effects of methoxychlor on serum level of steroid hormone and function of ovarian antioxidant system in female rats

    CHANG Fei, CHEN Biª²Liang, MA Xiangª²Dong, WANG Xiaoª²Rong

    Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi¬ðan 710033, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿AIM: To investigate the effects of methoxychlor(MXC) on serum steroid hormone, uterus index and ovarian antioxidant function in female Sprague Dawley rats. METHODS: MXC was administrated to the adult female rats at doses of 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 mg/(kg¡¤d)for 21 d. Vaginal smears of rats were taken to determine estrous cycle. After treatment for 21 d, the level of serum estradiol was detected by radioimmunoassay in all the animals.Body weight and uterus index were also determined in all the animals.The activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and glutathione peroxidase(GSHª²Px),and the level of malondialdehyde(MDA) were measured by spectrophotometry. RESULTS: The number of estrous cycle in MXC groups was obviously lower than that in control group (P<0.05). The 50 mg/(kg¡¤d)MXC significantly increased the uterus index. The activities of GSHª²Px and SOD in the 3 MXC groups decreased significantly as compared with those in the control group (P<0.05), but the level of MDA was raised in comparison with the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: MXC could disturb the estrous cycle and affect the function of ovarian antioxidant system in female SD rats. ......