2.7. Measurement of body weight and thyroid weight
Body weight was recorded on the beginning, sixth, eleventh, and fifteenth days of the trial. Thyroid weight was assessed following exsanguinations. An electronic weighing balance (Sartorius BP 210S) was used to measure thyroid weight.
2.8. Tissue homogenization
The thyroid gland was removed for biochemical testing, cleaned with PBS solution, and kept at -20oC until needed. The thyroid gland extract was made with homogenization in 0.02 M Tris-Cl (pH 7.4). After centrifuging homogenate tissue at 12500 rpm for 30 min at 4°C, the supernatant was kept at -20°C for the biochemical tests.