The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of fluted pumpkin seeds (FPS) against caffeine (CAFF) induced testicular toxicity in rats. Thirty young healthy male Wistar rats (196 ± 12 g) were randomly organized into five sets of six animals per each group: control, caffeine (CAFF; 50 mg kg À1 bw) and FPS co-treatment groups (CAFF + 50 mg FPS, CAFF + 100 mg FPS and CAFF + 200 mg FPS kg À1 bw). CAFF and FPS were administered daily and twice per week respectively by oral gavage for 40 days. CAFF treatment decreased testicular lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity level, which was attenuated on co-administration with FPS at 50 and 100 mg kg À1 bw. Furthermore, CAFF decreased seminiferous epithelia thickness and spermatogenesis score index and increased the number of tubules with abnormal histological features, which were attenuated on co-administration with FPS at 50 mg kg À1 bw much more than at the higher doses (p < 0.05). CAFF did not affect malondialdehyde and glutathione concentrations and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in the testes whereas FPS co-treatment at the higher doses elevated glutathione level and GSH-Px activity and did not affect spermatogenesis score index at the highest dose (200 mg kg À1 bw). Testicular malondialdehyde concentrations remained unaffected in all FPS co-treatment groups. Overall, FPS is able to minimize the CAFF-induced testicular injury at lower than at the higher tested doses.caffeine, fluted pumpkin seeds, histology, spermatogenesis, testis | INTRODUCTIONCaffeine (CAFF: 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a naturally occurring purine-like alkaloid that is present in coffee, tea, cocoa bean and kola nuts. It is one of the most highly consumed psycho-stimulant in food supplements, beverages, energy drinks and some synthetic drugs (Akomolafe et al., 2019;Temple et al., 2017). It stimulates the central nervous system, which results in mental alertness and reduced drowsiness, loosening of smooth muscles and induction of heart rate. At higher doses, CAFF causes insomnia, tremors, increases nervousness and testicular injury in rats (
Mucuna pruriens leaves are used in some part of Nigeria for the treatment of malaria and anemia. With an estimated 3.3 billion people in 97 countries and territories at risk of being infected with malaria according to the WHO, researching into new chemotherapeutic agent against this disease is indeed necessary. This study was designed to evaluate the antimalarial effect of ethanol extract of Mucuna pruriens leaves on NK65 chloroquine sensitive strain of plasmodium berghei in mice. The bioactive compounds in the extract were identified using GC-MS. The experimental animals were divided into 6 groups: negative control, normal control, groups treated with chloroquine (10 mg/kg), Artemeter/Lumefantrine-ACT (20 mg/120 mg/kg), 500 mg/kg of M. pruriens, 1000 mg/kg of M. pruriens and 2000 mg/kg of M. pruriens respectively. Parasite inoculation was done by intraperitoneal injection of 0.2ml of the inoculum (1×107 infected erythrocytes). The GCMS result revealed the extract contains n-hexadeconoic acid, a compound known to possess antimalarial properties. The study revealed that the administrations M. pruriens leaves extracts at suitable doses reduced the parasite load and were able to maintain the PCV at a normal range with a stabilising effect on body weight.
Several anticancer drugs are coadministered with ascorbate (ASCB) to complement their cytotoxic effects. However, it is not known if the treatment regimen prevents collateral oxidative damage to non-target sites. The current study evaluated the effect of ASCB cotreatment on the testes of young adult rats treated with an anticancer drug, busulfan (BUS). About 40 Wistar rats were arbitrarily assigned into four groups (N = 10), namely, control (<0.2% dimethyl sulfoxide vehicle), BUS (4 mg/kg b.w.; intraperitoneally for 4 days), BUS + ASCB (4 mg BUS/kg b.w. for 4 days + 100 mg ASCB/kg b.w.; intraperitoneally for 14 days and 7 days prior to start of BUS injection), and ASCB (100 mg/kg b.w.; intraperitoneally for 21 days). At the end of study, ASCB + BUS cotreatment reduced spermatogenesis score index, superoxide dismutase activity, total ASCB and decreased hydrogen peroxide level, and elevated catalase activity and nitrite concentration much more than treatment with BUS alone ( P < 0.05 ). Other observations included elevated malondialdehyde level, DNA damage, and diminished glutathione concentration in the testes of BUS + ASCB animals. Interestingly, ASCB administration raised testicular ASCB concentration beyond the control values ( P < 0.05 ) and the antioxidant status of the testes. Histological aberrations included many single layers of germ cells, shrinked tubules, and vacuolated structures in the epithelium of BUS + ASCB, similar to those of BUS-treated animals. In conclusion, BUS treatment deregulated the redox status of the testes and caused a dramatic consumption of ASCB which were enhanced by exogenous ASCB resulting to testicular damage.
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