The dose was reasonable.
The animals either received gum arabic (GA) or the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) derivative, mesterolone (M) (2 mg/kg body weight) (Proviron trademark of Schering, Schering do Brasil, São Paulo, SP, Brazil) by orogastric tube during the last 3 weeks of the study (3d/wk: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Mesterolone (1 alpha-methyl-17 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-3-one) was chosen for two reasons: 1) it can be administered orally avoiding injection-induced wound formation and 2) as a non-17 alpha-alkylated derivative of testosterone it presents low hepatotoxicity.