Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Imo State University Owerri, Nigeria.

Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Abia State University Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria

Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Abia State University Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria

Departments of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria
Alligator pepperProlactin ,Prolactin ,Wistar rats ,Herbaceous Perennials ,Lactating Mothers ,

The effect of alligator pepper (Elettaria Cardamomum) on prolactin secretion in lactating sprague dawley rats was investigated. A total of 80 lactating Sprague dawley rats were used for the study. They were divided into four groups labeled A,B,C, and O respectively, with a sample size of twenty lactating rats per group. The groups (A,B,C) received 0.7mg /kg/bw, 1.4mg/kg/bw, and 2.8mg/kg/bw of aqueous solution of alligator pepper respectively. Group O, the control group, received only distilled water. The rats whose mean weight was 200g received the treatments by oral intubations between the hours of 9 and 10 am daily. At the end of the 10- day treatment (beginning from day of delivery), ten lactating rats were sacrificed from each group. Prolactin hormone assay was carried out on the blood sample of the forty sacrificed animals. The remaining ten animals per group (A,B,C) were then allowed a 7-day non-treatment period to suckle their litters during which only distilled water was administered to them and the control group. The rats were sacrificed at the end of the 7th day and their blood samples collected and investigated accordingly. The results showed that alligator pepper (Eletteria Cardamomum) has a dose–dependent suppressive effect on prolactin secretion. The analysis showed that prolactin concentration was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the control group than in the other groups while prolactin level of group A was significantly higher (P<0.05) groups B and C

4 , 2 , 2014