The Effects of Aqueous Extract of Celery Leaves ( Apium Gravelens ) on the Delivery Rate, Sexual Ratio, and Litter Number of the Female Rats

Background: For many centuries, the human has made a lot of efforts to determine sex ratios in different species and has proposed various theories. In this regard, the effect of several plants on sex ratio (female to male) has been examined, but an empirical research about the effect of aqueous extracts from the leaves of celery on the sex ratio has not been carried out yet. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of celery extract on the delivery rate, sex ratio, and the number of newborns in female rats. Patients and Methods: A total of 45 adult Wistar rats (15 Males and 30 Females) were prepared. The rats were divided into 3 groups; a control group and the 2 other experimental groups received celery extracts at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg of their body weight. The extract was given orally to the female rats by gavage for 15 consecutive days. For mating, each male rat was placed with two female rats in separate cages for five days. After delivery, the percentage of rats that gave birth, as well as the number and sex ratio of the newborns were determined. The results were analyzed using SPSS version, 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, Tukey test, and post hoc LSD. Results: The results showed that aqueous extracts of celery have significantly increased the mean percentage of delivery rate (extract, and control were 100 ± 60 vs. 60 ± 0.16, respectively), the average number of newborns (extract, and control were 7.8 ± 1.2 vs. 3.5 ± 1.2, respectively) and the mean sex ratio (male to female ratio) of newborns (extract and control were 1.26 ± 0.37 vs. 0.81 ± 0.13, respectively) (P ≤ 0. 05). Conclusions: The extract contains substances that are effective on the delivery rate, sex ratio, and the number of newborns in the female rats. It may affect through the ionic changes in the rats, by modifying the activity of follicle-stimulating and testosterone hormones, and/ or changing the rate of fertilizing ability of sperms containing Y chromosome. This phenomenon may also be due to lowering serum fats, acidity levels, and accordingly reducing the acidity of the uterus secretions.