Physalis pubescens L. alleviates testicular disruptions associated with streptozotocin-induced diabetes in male Wistar rats, Rattus norvegicus

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2022-02, Vol.29 (8), p.12300-12312
• Main Authors: Ali, Atef Abdel-Moneem, Essawy, Ehab Abdel-Raouf, Mohamed, Noha Sayed, Abdel Moneim, Ahmed E., Attaby, Fawzy Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adults; Animals; Antioxidants - metabolism; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; B-lymphocytes; BAX protein; Bcl-2 protein; Bcl-x protein; Beta cells; blood glucose; blood serum; Caspase-3; Catalase; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - drug therapy; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental - metabolism; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Follicle-stimulating hormone; gene expression; Glutathione; Glutathione peroxidase; Glutathione reductase; glutathione-disulfide reductase; histopathology; Inflammation; Interleukin 1; interleukin-1beta; Interleukins; juices; Luteinizing hormone; Lymphoma; Male; Males; Malondialdehyde; Metformin; mRNA; necrosis; neoplasms; Nitric oxide; Oral administration; Oxidative Stress; Peroxidase; Physalis; Physalis pubescens; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rattus norvegicus; Reductases; Research Article; Rodents; Serum levels; Streptozocin; Streptozocin - metabolism; streptozotocin; Superoxide dismutase; Testes; Testis - metabolism; Testosterone; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-16616-1

Testicular impairment is a serious complication of diabetes that is mediated by oxidative stress and inflammation. Physalis has antioxidative and anti-inflammatory actions. Thus, the present study investigated the ameliorative role of Physalis juice (PJ) prepared from the fruits against testicular damages in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Adult male Wistar rats were divided randomly into five groups ( n =6): control, orally administered 5 mL PJ/kg daily (PJ), injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 55 mg STZ/kg without treatment (STZ), or treated daily with PJ (STZ+PJ) or with 500 mg metformin/kg (STZ+Met), for 28 days. The STZ group showed a marked elevation in the blood glucose level by 230%, whereas remarkable declines in the serum levels of testosterone (44%), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (48%), and luteinizing hormone (LH) (36%), as compared to controls. In comparison to controls, the testis of the STZ group showed remarkable declines in the testis weight (15%), the glutathione (GSH) content (45%), mRNA and protein levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) (48 and 35%), mRNA and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (63 and 40%), catalase (CAT) (56 and 31%), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (51 and 44%), and glutathione reductase (GR) (62 and 43%), whereas marked elevations in the levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β (169%), tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNFα) (85%), nitric oxide (NO) (96%), malondialdehyde (MDA) (83%), mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) (400 and 61%), and mRNA level of caspase-3 (Cas-3) (370%). Some histopathological alterations were observed in the testicular tissue of the STZ group. In contrast, PJ markedly alleviated all the abovementioned disturbances. In conclusion, PJ at a dose of 5 mL/kg attenuated the diabetes-associated testicular impairments, which may be due to its antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic actions.