Effects of Soy Isoflavone extract treatment on Morphology and Morphometry of the Urinary Tract of Overiectomised Female Sprague Dawley Rats

Abstract

The effect of soy isoflavone extract on the morphology and morphometry of the urinary tract of ovariectomised Sprague Dwaley rats were evaluated using histological methods. Twenty four virgin adult Sprague Dawley rats were placed into three groups treated as follows: sham operate + distilled water, ovariectomy + soy isoflavone and ovariectomy + distilled water for 65 days. A 125μg isoflavone/g body weight/ day dosage was administered to the experimental group with ad libitum soy-free feed and water. The means for variables muscularis thickness, lamina propria thickness, muscle nuclei density, epithelium thickness and number of blood vessels were compared using ANOVA at 95% confidence interval. The sham operated group recorded significantly higher values for muscularis thickness and muscle nuclei density in all organs compared to the other two groups. Lamina propria thickness was lowest in the sham-vehicle treared group for all organs. No significant differences in the lamina propria thickness were recorded between the ovariectomy + isoflavone treated and the ovariectomy + distilled water treated groups in the urethra and bladder ( p=0.74; p=0.20) respectively. Urethral blood vessel numbers were significantly higher in the ovariectomy+ soy isoflavone group compared to the control groups (p=0.03). Ovariectomy resulted muscle depletion and vacuolation copled with an increase in lamina propria thickness in all organs. Soy isoflavones slightly reversed the effects of ovariectomy on muscle and connective tissue components of the bladder, urethra and ureter. Soy isoflavones were able to weakly positively influence the morphology and morphometry of the urinary tract.