Icariin, A Novel Promising Complementary Therapeutic Strategy In The Management Of Female Infertility: A Literature Review

Authors

  • Sima Mosavi Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of medicine, Urmia university of medical sciences, Urmia, Iran
  • Amirabbas Rostami Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of General Medicine, Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, Yerevan, Armenia
  • Marzieh Pooladi Department of Anatomical Sciences, School Of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
  • Mahdie ShojaeiBaghini Medical Informatics Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
  • Sahar Poudineh School of Medicine, Mashhad Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
  • Maryam Poudineh School of Medicine, Mashhad Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
  • Esmaeil Behzadi School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31661/gmj.v12i.2528

Keywords:

Icariin, Female Infertility, Female Reproductive System

Abstract

The prevalence of pre-menopausal female infertility is increasing considerably due to various causes such as environmental pollutants, increased administration of chemotherapeutics and radiation exposure, microbial infections, and genetic/epigenetic alterations. However, the current therapeutical strategies remain unfavorite as the disadvantages are strongly challenging. Icariin (ICI) is a phytoestrogen that exerts some promising properties in order to alleviate female infertility. Therefore, the current literature review aimed to evaluate the conducted studies regarding the beneficial impacts of ICI on the female reproductive system and female fecundity. The findings of the present study revealed that ICI is able to modulate the levels of reproductive hormones as it causes a significant decrement in the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) while increasing the levels of estrogen and progesterone. Furthermore, the administration of ICI results in a dramatic alteration in the expression of sex steroids’ receptors, particularly in female reproductive tissues. In addition, preserving ovarian follicular reserve, improving the ovarian and uterine histoarchitecture, elongating the estrous cycle duration, and eventually advancing the female fecundity are other major effects of ICI on the female reproductive system. Despite these desired beneficial properties, the current knowledge appears to be insufficient, hence further investigations, particularly on humans, are encouraged. To the best of our knowledge, this review provides a comprehensive information regarding the beneficial effects of Icariin on female infertility for the firs time

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2023-02-17

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Vol. 12 (2023): 2023

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Review Article

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