en Medical Laboratory and Animal Investigation Medical Laboratory and Animal Investigation مقاله پژوهشی Original Research Article <span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Background & Objective:</span></span></b><b> </b><b>&nbsp;</b><span style="color:black">Presentational stress attenuates circulating levels of sex hormones and potentially affects reproductive function. This study investigated the effects of simultaneous administration of <i>Cuscuta epithymum</i> (CE) extract on stress-related reproductive parameters in parental Wistar rats and on the serum sex hormone levels of their offspring.</span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">&nbsp;Materials & Methods:</span></span></span></b> &nbsp;<span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">In this&nbsp;experiment,&nbsp;64 female rats and 36 male Wistar rats were&nbsp;divided into various categories: Control (no&nbsp;stress&nbsp;or&nbsp;CE extract), CE Extract (received only the&nbsp;extract), Stress (exposed only to&nbsp;stress), Stress + CE Extract (exposed to&nbsp;both stress and&nbsp;received the&nbsp;extract). Parental reproductive parameters were assessed across groups, including vaginal epithelial thickness and vaginal pH in female rats, sperm parameters in males, and circulating sex hormone levels in both sexes. Offspring were evaluated for sex ratio, litter size, and serum sex hormone levels in all groups.</span></span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span lang="EN-IN"><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Results: </span></span></span></b><b>&nbsp;</b><span style="color:black"><span style="letter-spacing:-.1pt">Presentational stress significantly reduced sperm parameters in adult males and decreased the thickness of the vaginal epithelium in adult females (<i>P< 0.01</i>). However, co-administration of <i>Cuscuta Epithymum</i> extract in the stress-exposed groups significantly improved these parameters compared with the stress group and restored them toward control levels. Additionally, stress exposure led to a significant reduction in the number of male offspring per litter (P < 0.01), an effect that was significantly mitigated by CE extract administration (P < 0.01).</span></span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span style="background:#2d7f8f"><span style="color:white">Conclusion: </span></span></b><b><span style="color:#2d7f8f">&nbsp;T</span></b><span style="color:black">he findings of this study indicate that concomitant administration of <i>Cuscuta Epithymum</i> extract can attenuate the adverse effects of stress on parental reproductive parameters in parents, sex ratio, litter size, and sex hormone blood levels in offspring. These results suggest that CE extract may be a potential supplement for improving reproductive function prior to conception.</span></span><br> &nbsp;</span></span></span> Immobility stress, Pre-gestation, Reproductive functions, Sex hormones, Cuscuta Epithymum, Animal study 98 109 http://journal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-4157-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Narjes Khavasi nxavasi@zums.ac.ir 5200319475328460090046 5200319475328460090046 No Department of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Ehsan Saboory saboory@zums.ac.ir 5200319475328460090047 5200319475328460090047 No Department of Addiction Studies, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Science, Zanjan, Iran Zahra Najmi zahranaj@yahoo.com 5200319475328460090048 5200319475328460090048 No Department of Clinical and Translational Science, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA Leila Ghassemifard l.ghasemifard1893@gmail.com 5200319475328460090049 5200319475328460090049 No Department of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Amir Mohammad Ghanbari amgh201808@gmail.com 5200319475328460090050 0009-0003-0755-0427 No School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Science, Zanjan, Iran Saeed Sardari ssardari504@zums.ac.ir 5200319475328460090051 5200319475328460090051 Yes Department of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran