Nicotine is a natural component of tobacco plants and is responsible for the addictive properties of tobacco. Nicotine has been recognized to result in oxidative stress by inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The purpose of this work was to estimate the hepatotoxicity effect of nicotine on viability and on antioxidant defense system in cultures of HepG2 cell line and the other hand, ameliorative effect of quercetin (Q) as an antioxidant was analyzed. Nicotine induced concentration dependent loss in HepG2 cell line viability. The results indicated that nicotine decreased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) and increased activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) content in the HepG2 cells. Q significantly increased activity of SOD, GR and GSH content and decreased activity of GPX in nicotine + Q groups. Our data demonstrate that Q plays a protective role against the imbalance elicited by nicotine between the production of free radicals and antioxidant defense systems, and suggest that administration of this antioxidant may find clinical application where cellular damage is a consequence of ROS.

Background: War causes more death and disability than many major diseases. There are few studies in the context of the deleterious impact of war on fertility potential; therefore, in this study, we tried to review articles about the adverse effects of war on male/ female fertility potential Methods: In this study, a total of 183 articles related to the effects of war on fertility potential were examined by a systematic search using known international medical databases. Results: Among these studies, there were limited studies on the effects of war on female infertility and most studies examined the effects of war on sperm parameters and male infertility. The physical and psychological trauma of war can increase the risk of infertility in men and women. Presence of reproductive system toxins in weapons, stressful periods of war and direct damage to the reproductive system can impair the fertility of men and women. The way war affects male fertility is not clear, but the higher degree of stress during wartime seems to play an important role. Using reproductive toxicants during the war also increases the risk of impairment in reproductive function in men. Some studies have shown the harmful effects of Sulfur mustard as a war chemical toxin especially on sperm quality and male infertility. Oxidative stress induced by free radicals is a major mechanism for the direct effects of Sulfur mustard on male infertility. Conclusion: The study of past research suggests that exposure to war may be an independent risk factor for reproductive disorders and infertility in men. For female infertility, war leads to menstrual dysfunction.

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Aim: Maternal diabetes adversely retards the development of preimplantation embryos. Quercetin is a flavonoid belonging to phytoestrogens family and may be useful in treatment of reproductive disorders. The aim of this study was investigation of the ameliorative effects of quercetin administration on preimplantation embryo development in diabetic pregnancy. Methods: Diabetic and healthy female mice were treated with 30 mg/kg/day quercetin 4 weeks before conception. Blastocysts were recovered at the 4th day of pregnancy for protein and mRNA expression changes. Plasma sex-steroid levels were also analyzed. Results: Quercetin significantly decreased blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. Embryos retrieved from diabetic mice exhibited a considerable delay in morphological development. In diabetic mice with quercetin treatment, morphological distribution was shifted considerably to the well-developed stages. Serum estradiol level reduced in diabetic mice but, treatment with quercetin significantly increased serum estradiol level. While IGF1R, integrin αvβ3, and Cox2 mRNA expression in the blastocyst of diabetic mice decreased significantly, quercetin treatment caused increasing expression levels of these genes. Expression of the Caspase3 gene increased dramatically in the collected blastocysts from diabetic mice and reduced following quercetin treatment. Besides, the inactive β-catenin protein level in the blastocysts of diabetic mice was higher than that in normal mice, while treatment with quercetin decreased the level of inactive β-catenin protein in the blastocyst of diabetic mice. Conclusion: Quercetin protects preimplantation embryos from destructive effects of diabetes. The amelioration of sex hormones disturbance in early pregnancy may help to treat reproductive disorders in diabetic women. Quercetin can be considered as a novel solution to the improvement of reproductive disorders in the diabetic females.

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