Acute Effects of Mimosine Purified from Leucaena leucocephala on Male Reproductive System of Adult Mice

Abstract

KANLA, P.; BURAWAT, J.; ARUN, S.; SAWATPANICH, T.; CHAICHUN, A. & IAMSAARD, S. Acute effects of mimosine purified from Leucaena leucocephala on male reproductive system of adult mice. Int. J. Morphol., 36(2):507-512, 2018. SUMMARY. This study attempted to examine the acute effect of purified minosine extracted from Leucaena leucocephala on male reproductive system. Adults male mice were divided into 4 groups (n =8); control and 3 experimental groups treated with purified mimosine at different doses of 15, 30, and 60 mg/KgBW, respectively for 7 consecutive days. The morphological features and weights of body and reproductive organs including testis, epididymis plus vas deferens, and seminal vesicle were compared among groups. In addition, epididymal sperm concentration and the changes of histopathology of testicular tissues in all groups were observed. The results showed that mimosine in all doses did not affect mice body weights. However, all doses of mimosine could significantly reduce the absolute and relative weights of testis and seminal vesicle but not of epididymis plus vas deferens. Significantly, mimosine at doses of 30, and 60 mg/KgBw could decrease sperm concentration. Moreover, the seminiferous atrophy and degeneration were obviously found in mimosine treated mice as compared to the control. In conclusion, consumption of Leucaena leucocephala edible parts containing mimosine could damage male reproductive organs which may cause acute male subfertility or infertility. KANLA, P.; BURAWAT, J.; ARUN, S.; SAWATPANICH, T.; CHAICHUN, A. & IAMSAARD, S. Acute effects of mimosine purified from Leucaena leucocephala on male reproductive system of adult mice. Int. J. Morphol., 36(2):507-512, 2018.

Mimosine Increases the Expressions of Tyrosine Phosphorylated Protein in Mouse Seminal Vesicles

“…Herein, our study has demonstrated the effect of MiMo treatment for 35 days on seminal vesicle for the first time. We have hypothesized that the levels of magnesium and fructosamine in MiMo treated mice might be decreased and associated with adverse reproductive parameters as previously reported (Burawat et al, 2018;Kanla et al). Moreover, such levels have been reported to relate with male infertility (Abou-Shakra et al; Tomaszewski et al; Omu et al; Wong et al).…”

“…Indeed, Burawat et al (2016) have reported the presence of MiMo in crude LL leave extract and demonstrated its adverse effects on male reproductive organs including seminal vesicle (SV). Moreover, a previous study reported that acute treatment with purified MiMo for 7 consecutive days affected testicular, epididymal, and SV morphologies with significant reduction of sperm count (Kanla et al, 2018). Such results suggested that MiMo could directly inhibit spermatogenesis and testosterone production.…”

“…By using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) with method validation, Burawat et al (2018) have demonstrated for the first time that MiMo levels in aqueous crude extract of LL shoot tips plus young leaves cultured in Northeastern, Thailand were approximately 17.35 % dry crude extract. Particularly, both aqueous crude extract of LL shoot tips plus young leaves and purified MiMo have previously reported to have adverse effects on male reproductive mouse organs such as testis, epididymis, and seminal vesicle (Burawat et al, 2018;Kanla et al). It has been shown that acute effect of MiMo treatment for 7 days could damage testicular tissue which may affect the sperm production resulted in significant decreasing of epididymal sperm concentration (Kanla et al).…”

“…It is known that male infertility is associated with SV secretion impairments especially magnesium and fructosamine deficiencies (Abou-Shakra et al, 1989;Tomaszewski et al, 1992;Omu et al, 2001;Wong et al, 2001). Although atrophy of SV treated with MiMo was observed (Burawat et al, 2016;Kanla et al), its function such as electrolyte and protein secretion has never been reported. Essential secretions of SV may include various functional proteins including tyrosine phosphorylated (TyrPho) proteins (Camargo et al, 2018;Druart & de Graaf, 2018).…”

Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit Seeds: A New Potential Source of Sulfhydryl Compounds

“…de Wit seeds because mimosine is a toxic compound. 10 Mimosine can cause hair loss, 11 damage male reproductive organs in mice, 28 and impair growth performance. 29 The seeds contain 6.58% dry weight mimosine, which can be removed by soaking in aquadest for 24 hours.…”