Abstract

Young rats of 9-day old with testosterone propionate subcutaneously injected were used as an androgen sterilized rats (ASR) model. On 80th day, herbal extract of tonifying the Kidney was fed for 14 days, all animals were sacrificed by cardiac perfusion method on 100 days of ages. Morphological studies with light and electron microscope, immunohistochemical studies with argyrophilic nucleolar organiser region (AgNOR) and proliferating cell nucleolar antigen (PCNA) were used for observations on the morphological change of adrenal cortex. In control group (treated with testosterone propionate only) the reticular zone of the adrenal cortex extented widely in which cellular fatty drops, AgNOR and PCNA increased apparently. In animal treated with herbs, the width of the reticular zone, the numbers of AgNOR and PCNA reduced significantly to normal levels (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.01) and numbers of fatty drops also decreased. It suggests that during inducing ovulation in ASR tonifying Kidney herbs simultaneously regulated the adrenal function besides the chief function on pituitary-ovary regulation.