The combined effects of Trigonella and Allium extracts in the regulation of hyperthyroidism in rats.

The combined effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum and Allium sativum extracts were evaluated for their ameliorative potential in the L-thyroxine-induced hyperthyroidic rat model to contribute to an understanding of interaction between the two extracts. The investigation was carried out using two different doses. A comparison was made with the response of individual plant extracts at the previously studied effective dose in adult Wistar rats rendered hyperthyroidic by daily injections of L-thyroxine (300 microg/kg body wt., s.c.). Propylthiouracil (PTU), an antithyroid drug, was used as a reference compound. Alterations in serum triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), glucose, hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and oxygen consumption were studied as end parameters. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were examined to reveal any toxic effects of the drugs. The combined effects of Trigonella and Allium at 200 and 500 mg/kg body wt. respectively, were equipotent as compared to the individual extracts in lowering the serum concentrations of T3 and T4 in hyperthyroidic rats. Our findings reveal that some plant extracts in combination may not always prove to be synergistic. It is therefore suggested that Trigonella foenum-graecum and Allium sativum extracts may be used individually and not together in the regulation of hyperthyroidism.