Protective effects of Withania somnifera against cyclophosphamide-induced testicular damage in rats

Objective: Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an alkylating agent commonly used in cancer treatment. It is known to have detrimental effects on the reproductive system, including the potential to cause infertility. Recently, herbal remedies have gained traction as a complementary approach to addressing these...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine 2024, Vol.51 (3), p.205-212
Main Authors: Mehrana Jafari, Ahmad Akbari, Zeynab Esmailpour, Zahra Nadi, Maryam Baazm
Format: Article
Language:Korean
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an alkylating agent commonly used in cancer treatment. It is known to have detrimental effects on the reproductive system, including the potential to cause infertility. Recently, herbal remedies have gained traction as a complementary approach to addressing these side effects. In this study, our goal was to investigate whether the aqueous-alcoholic extract of Withania somnifera (WS) could mitigate the adverse impacts of CP on testicular tissue. Methods: Animals were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: control, WS (500 mg/kg), CP (100 mg/kg), CP+WS pre-treatment, and CP+WS post-treatment. WS was administered orally through gavage for 1 month. We assessed sperm parameters, testicular histopathology, and the expression of the Bax and Bcl2 genes in the experimental groups. Results: Sperm parameters (including count, viability, and motility), the number of spermatogonia, the seminiferous tubule diameter, and Bcl2 gene expression, significantly decreased after CP injection (p
ISSN:2233-8233
2233-8241