Antioxidant and cytokine modulation in PCOS rats protected with probiotics, myo-inositol, and herbal extracts

This study investigated the pathophysiology of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and evaluated the protective effects of various treatments in immature female Wistar rats (<i>N</i> = 48). The rats were divided into 6 groups: Olive oil injection (negative control, G1); testosterone propionate (TP)-induced PCOS (G2); probiotic + TP (G3); myo-inositol (myo-ins) + TP (G4); <i>U. dioica</i> extract + TP (G5); <i>W. somnifera</i> extract + TP (G6). The body weight, body weight gain, and percentage gain were measured weekly and then transformed using the base-10 logarithm (log₁₀). TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-17 were weekly measured using ELISA kits. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were analysed in the serum and liver extracts. The <i>W. somnifera</i> significantly reduced the TNF-α levels (<i>P</i> < 0.01). The probiotic and myo-ins significantly elevated the IL-10 levels (<i>P</i> < 0.01). Both plant extracts moderately restored the IL-10 levels. The probiotic and <i>U. dioica</i> administration significantly reduced the IL-17 levels (<i>P</i> < 0.01). The <i>W. somnifera</i> administration also decreased the IL-17 levels, though the effect was less pronounced than that of <i>U. dioica</i>. The probiotic, myo-ins, and <i>W. somnifera</i> groups exhibited enhanced CAT activity (<i>P</i> < 0.05). <i>W. somnifera</i> showed significant increases in the SOD and GSH-Px activities (<i>P</i> < 0.01), showing the most dramatic improvement. The use of these four treatments as a monotherapy in this study resulted in different changes. Therefore, further investigation is necessary to evaluate the protective effects of combining duos or trios of these treatments against this disease.