Estudo da atividade do extrato etanólico de selaginella convoluta sobre o crescimento in vitro de folículos ovinos

Abstract

Based on the theme of medicinal plants and the ethnomedicinal functions attributed to Selaginella convoluta (jericho, closed-hand or parrot-hand), the objective was to evaluate in vitro the influence of supplementation with extract of Selaginella convoluta in the culture medium of ovarian follicles and sheep thereby creating scientific evidence about the real properties of the plant species on the female reproductive system.The first experiment was based on the investigation of possible relationships between degree of hygiene, nutritional condition and ovarian reserve in ovine females. In a local slaughterhouse, 10 crossbred female sheep, adults of reproductive age, were selected. During the bleeding, blood samples were collected to perform a complete blood count, and when the carcasses were opened, the ovaries of the selected females were acquired and processed using histological technique to assess their cell quality, subsequently grouped by body drainage category. After analysis, it is concluded that animals with a body score above 3 have greater ovarian reserve and better cell quality. Based on the results of the experiment described above, the characteristics of the animals participating in the second experiment were defined: crossbred female sheep, adults of reproductive age, healthy and with body runoff 3. The methodology was based on the fragmentation of the ovaries and cultivation for 8 days in α-MEM + supplemented or not with different concentrations of S. convoluta (0.0; 0.1; 0.2; 0.4 or 0.8 mg / mL). After culture, the ovarian tissue was used for morphological analysis and research of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In order to investigate the effects of adding Selaginella convoluta crude ethanolic extract (EEB) to the in vitro culture of follicles included in ovarian ovine tissue, it was observed that all tested groups allowed follicular activation, however those cultivated with EEB from Selaginella convoluta allowed greater activation and less degeneration, with the best results expressed in the concentration of 0.8 mg / mL. As for ROS research, supplementation of the medium revealed a reduction in ROS levels. Based on the findings of Experiment 2, it can be concluded that in this study the supplementation of cell culture medium with EEB of S. convoluta revealed marked cytoprotective activity, as it conserved cell morphology, stimulated development and decreased the formation of ROS in culture in situ.