Structural and histomorphometric evaluations of ferutinin effects on the uterus of ovariectomized rats during osteoporosis treatment

AimsThe effects of chronic administration of Ferutinin (phytoestrogen found in the plants of genus Ferula), compared with those elicited by estradiol benzoate, were evaluated, following ovariectomy, on the uterus of ovariectomized rats as regard weight, size, structure and histomorphometry.Main methodsThe experimental study included 40 female Sprague–Dawley rats, assigned to two different protocols, i.e. preventive and recovering. In the preventive protocol, ferutinin (2 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 30 days, starting from the day after ovariectomy; in the recovering protocol, ferutinin was administered, at the same dosage, for 30 days starting from the 60th day after ovariectomy, when osteoporosis was clearly established. Its effects were compared with those of estradiol benzoate (1.5 μg per rat twice a week, subcutaneously injected) vs. vehicle-treated ovariectomized controls and vehicle-treated sham-operated controls. Uteri were removed, weighed and analysed under both the structural and histomorphometrical points of view.Key findingsOur data show that ferutinin acts, similarly to estradiol benzoate, on the uterus stimulating endometrial and myometrial hypertrophy; this notwithstanding, the phytoestrogen ferutinin, in contrast to estrogen treatment, appears to increase apoptosis in uterine luminal and glandular epithelia.SignificanceFerutinin, used in osteoporosis treatment primarily for bone mass recovering, seems in line with an eventual protective function against uterine carcinoma, unlike estrogens so far employed in hormone replacement therapy (HRT).