The objective of this study was to examine the direct effects of the medicinal plant fennel (Foeniculumvulgare Mill.) on basic functions of ovarian cells, including proliferation, apoptosis, and response to the physiological hormonal stimulator, ghrelin. In the first series of experiments, porcine ovarian granulosa cells were cultured with (1, 10, 100 µg/ml) or without fennel extract. In the second series of experiments, cells were cultured with (1, 10, 100 ng/ml) or without ghrelin, alone or in combination with fennel extract (10 µg/ml). Expression of the proliferation marker, PCNA, and the apoptosis marker, bax, were analyzed via quantitative immunocytochemical methods. Fennel stimulated the accumulation of the proliferation marker, and suppressed the expression of the apoptosis marker. Ghrelin alone promoted proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cells. The presence of fennel inhibited these ghrelin effects. These observations provide the first demonstration of (1) effects of fennel on farm animal reproduction, (2) direct effects of fennel on ovarian cells, (3) the ability of fennel to promote ovarian cell proliferation, to inhibit ovarian cell apoptosis, and to enhance the ovarian cell proliferation:apoptosis ratio. Furthermore, our results (4) confirm the involvement of ghrelin in the control of ovarian cell apoptosis and proliferation, and (5) demonstrate the ability of fennel to affect not only ovarian cell proliferation and apoptosis, but also to suppress the responses of ovarian cells to the upstream hormonal regulator ghrelin. Our results indicate the potential applicability of fennel as a bio-stimulator of farm animal reproduction.

• MeSH
• apoptóza účinky léků   MeSH
• Foeniculum * chemie   MeSH
• folikulární buňky účinky léků   metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• ghrelin farmakologie   MeSH
• kultivované buňky MeSH
• proliferace buněk účinky léků   MeSH
• proliferační antigen buněčného jádra metabolismus   MeSH
• protein X asociovaný s bcl-2 metabolismus   MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty izolace a purifikace   farmakologie   MeSH
• Sus scrofa MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• ghrelin MeSH
• GHRL protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• proliferační antigen buněčného jádra MeSH
• protein X asociovaný s bcl-2 MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty MeSH