Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.8 Issue 5.May 2014 Durgesh Ranjan Kar et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2014,8(5),665-669 665-669 Research Article ISSN: 0974-6943 Available online through www.jpronline.info *Corresponding author. Durgesh Ranjan Kar School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India. Evaluation of estrogenic activity of methanolic extract of Mikania scandens Durgesh Ranjan Kar*, Sudhanshu Sekhar Rout, Goutam Ghosh, Priyanka Dash, PratapKumar Sahu School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India. Received on:20-04-2014; Revised on: 05-05-2014; Accepted on:11-05-2014 ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate estrogenic activity of methanolic extract of Mikania scandens aerial parts in female albino rats. Methods: The estrogenic activity was determined using vaginal cornification and uterine weight methods. Ovariectomised female rats were treated with methanolic extract at dose of 400mg/kg body weight alone as well as with ethinyl estradiol (0.02mg/kg body wt) continuously for seven days by oral administration. On the 8 th day, all animals were sacrificed and uterine weight, vaginal cornification, diameter of uterus, thickness of endometrium were observed. Cholesterol and total protein were estimated by using Liebermann-Burchard and Folin-Lowry method respec- tively. Results: The methanolic extract exhibited significant (p< 0.05) estrogenic activity as evidenced by increase in the uterine weight, diameter of uterus, thickness of endometrium compared to control. A significant increase (p< 0.05) in uterine cholesterol and total protein level in treated rats was also observed. Conclusions: Methanolic extract possesses estrogenic effect which may be attributed to the presence of steroids like stigmasterol and ß-sitosterol. Keywords: Mikania scandens, immature female albino rats, uterotrophic changes, estrogenic activity. 1. INTRODUCTION Population explosion is a dangerous hurdle for a country’s develop- ment as the natural resources are limited. So population control is an issue of global and national public health concern. There are several family planning methods available for contraception but have seri- ous side effects like nausea, vomiting, weight gain, hypertension etc. 1 . Thus we require plant based contraceptive agents which are safe, effective with less side effects compared to modern family plan- ning contraception. Estrogen deficiency during menopause can de- velop many health problems, such as sleeping disorders, vaginal dryness, joint pain and cardiovascular disease 2 . Many plants have been used as a contraceptive and postmenopausal hormonal replacement therapy in traditional medicine as well as folk- lore without producing harmful toxic effects 3 . Mikania scandens (fam- ily- Asteraceae), is a common weed throughout India. The plant con- tains rich source of vitamin A, B and C, Mikanin, friedelin, efifriedinol, some sesquiterpene like dihydromikernolide and phytosterols 4,5 . The plant is reported to have psychopharmacological, neuropharmaco- logical, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antipyretic, anticarcinogenic and ulcerprotective activities 6-8 . There are reports of antifertility ac- tivity of plants possessing steroids like ß-sitosterol and stigmasterol etc. 9,10 . M. scandens is also reported to have chemical constituents like ß-sitosterol and stigmasterol 11 . As there was no earlier report on estrogenic activity of methanolic extract of M. scandens, it was thought worthwhile to screen the estrogenic activity of M. scandens. 2. MATERIALSAND METHODS 2.1. Chemicals Ethinyl estradiol was obtained from Organon (India) Ltd., kolkatta, (west Bengal) India. All other chemicals used were of analytical grade. 2.2. Plant collection and preparation of extract The fresh aerial parts of plant M. scandens were collected from West Midnapore district, West Bengal, India, in month of July, 2011. The plant was identified and authenticated by the Botanist, Dr. K. Karthigeyan, Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, West Bengal. A voucher specimen (CNH/128/2011/TECHII/ 637 /DRK-02) has been kept in the Department of Pharmacognosy, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Odisha, India. 2.3. Animals 21-23 days old, colony-bred immature female albino rats (Wistar strain) The shade dried aerial parts (1 Kg) were coarsely powdered and ex- tracted with methanol (2.5 l) in a soxhlet extractor for three days. The extract was filtered and concentrated to dryness under reduced pres- sure and controlled temperature (50-60 0 C) to yield a reddish brown viscous solid mass (110 g). The prepared methanolic extract was stud- ied for presence of different phyto constitutents. The extract was kept in a refrigerator for future study. A suspension of this extract was prepared in distilled water using tween -80 (1%).