Effect of benzene extract of Hibiscus rosa sinensis on the estrous cycle and ovarian activity in albino mice.

The benzene extract of Hibiscus rosa sinensis flowers was administered intraperitoneally at the dose levels of 125 and 250 mg/kg body weight to adult mice and resulted in an irregular estrous cycle with prolonged estrus and metestrus. An increase in the atretic follicles and the absence of corpora lutea indicate the antiovulatory effect of the extract. The extract also showed estrogenic activity in immature mice by early opening of the vagina, premature cornification of the vaginal epithelium and an increase in uterine weight. Therefore the antiovulatory effect may be due to an imbalance in the hormonal environment, as there may be an increase in the endogenous secretion of estrogen by atretic follicles, and also to the estrogenicity of the flower extract.