eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2024-03-20 17 1 119 124 10.13005/bpj/2839 55235 article Oyedeji K.O. 1 Oyakhilome O.J 1 Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. This study was designed to investigate ovarian gene transcriptional responses to selected anticonvulsant drugs (diazepam and phenytoin) in female rats. Fifteen female rats (120 – 140 g) were used for this study. Diazepam (0.14 mg/kg) and phenytoin (2.8 mg/kg) were given to the rodents orally for 50 days. The method of RT-PCR involving isolation of RNA, conversion of cDNA and electrophoresis was employed to investigate the expression of FSH-R, aromatase and GPX-1genes. Graphics were generated as mean +/- SEM using Graph-pad Prism version 8.0. The expression of GPX-1 was significantly (p<0.05) up-regulated, while the FSH-R and aromatase expressions were significantly (p<0.05) and insignificantly (p>0.05) down-regulated respectively in the diazepam treated rats when compared with their respective controls. The FSH-R and aromatase expressions were significantly (p<0.05) up-regulated, while the GPX-1 expression was insignificantly (p>0.05) up-regulated in the phenytoin treated rats relative to their respective controls. Conclusively, it can be suggested that diazepam: inhibited follicular growth through the down-regulation of FSH-R expression, reduced estrogen level through the down-regulation of aromatase expression, inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress through the up-regulation of GPX-1 expression. In addition, it can be suggested that phenytoin: induced follicular growth through the up-regulation of FSH-R expression, increased estrogen level through the up-regulation of aromatase expression, inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress through the up-regulation of GPX-1 expression. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol17no1/ovarian-gene-transcriptional-responses-to-anticonvulsant-drugs-diazepam-and-phenytoin-in-female-wistar-rats/ Diazepam FSHR Phenytoin RT-PCR Rats