Background: Reproductive dysfunction is a complication of diabetes. Arctium lappa (burdock) root has hypoglycemic and antioxidative properties, which are traditionally used for treatment of impotence and sterility. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of its hydro alcoholic extract on gonadotropin, testosterone, and sperm parameters in nicotinamide/ streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Methods: In this experimental study, 56 adult male Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice (30–35 g) were randomly divided into seven groups: control, diabetes, diabetes + glibenclamide (0.25 mg/kg), diabetes + extract (200 or 300 mg/kg), and extract (200 or 300 mg/kg). Diabetes was induced with intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide (NA) and streptozotocin (STZ). Twenty-four hours after the last extract and drug administration, serum samples, testes, and cauda epididymis were removed immediately for experimental assessment. Results: Body weight, serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone levels, and sperm count (P < 0.05) and viability (P < 0.01) decreased in diabetic mice. Administration of glibenclamide significantly improved these reductions in diabetic animals (P < 0.05). However, the hydro alcoholic extract (300 mg/kg) enhanced sperm viability only in diabetic mice (P < 0.01). In addition, this dose of extract increased sperm count, LH, FSH, and testosterone in nondiabetic animals compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results indicate that applied burdock root extract has anti-infertility effects in nondiabetic mice. Hence, this part of the A. lappa plant has an effect on the health of the reproductive system in order to improve diabetic conditions.

BACKGROUND: Without appropriate culture systems for hepatitis E virus (HEV), sufficient natural viral proteins are difficult to generate for use in serological tests. Therefore, it is important to produce large amounts of HEV recombinant proteins in an economical way. The present study developed ELISAs using 2 truncated forms of the HEV open reading frame (ORF) 2 protein in order to detect anti-HEV IgG in serum samples. METHODS: Two truncated forms of the ORF2 protein were expressed in Escherichia coli and were purified by Ni2+-chelate-affinity chromatography (Qiagen, Germany). Two ELISAs were developed using these proteins and were compared with DIA.PRO HEV IgG ELISA kit (DIA.PRO. Italy) in 220 serum samples. RESULTS: High yields of the target proteins were obtained through codon optimization. The concentration and purity of the proteins were improved with Amicon filters (EMD Millipore, USA). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting analysis of the resultant proteins showed a protein band of approximately 60 kDa corresponding to ORF2.1 (amino acids 112-660) and a protein band of approximately 55 kDa corresponding to ORF2.2 (amino acids 112-607). Positive agreement, negative agreement, and concordance of the 2 in-house ELISAs compared with DIA.PRO HEV IgG ELISA kit were 87%, 99.5%, and 98.1%, respectively (kappa=0.899, P=0.625). CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed ELISAs are useful for detecting anti-HEV IgG in serum samples and are highly concordant with DIA.PRO HEV IgG ELISA kit.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Antibodies/*blood ; *Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Escherichia coli/metabolism ; Hepatitis E virus/*metabolism ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis/immunology/isolation & purification ; Sequence Alignment ; Viral Proteins/chemistry/*immunology/metabolism