Antiperoxidative and anti-apoptotic effects of lycopene and ellagic acid on cyclophosphamide-induced testicular lipid peroxidation and apoptosis

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the possible protective effects of lycopene (LC) and ellagic acid (EA) on cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced testicular and spermatozoal toxicity associated with the oxidative stress and apoptosis in male rats. Forty-eight healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups of eight rats each. The control group was treated with placebo; the LC, EA and CP groups were given LC (10 mg kg(-1)), EA (2 mg kg(-1)) and CP (15 mg kg(-1)), respectively, alone; the CP+LC group was treated with a combination of CP (15 mg kg(-1)) and LC (10 mg kg(-1)); and the CP+EA group was treated with a combination of CP (15 mg kg(-1)) and EA (2 mg kg(-1)). All treatments were maintained for 8 weeks. At the end of the treatment period, bodyweight and the weight of the reproductive organs, sperm concentration and motility, testicular tissue lipid peroxidation, anti-oxidant enzyme activity and apoptosis (i.e. Bax and Bcl-2 proteins) were determined. Administration of CP resulted in significant decreases in epididymal sperm concentration and motility and significant increases in malondialdehyde levels. Although CP significantly increased the number of Bax-positive (apoptotic) cells, it had no effect on the number of Bcl-2-positive (anti-apoptotic) cells compared with the control group. However, combined treatment of rats with LC or EA in addition to CP prevented the development of CP-induced lipid peroxidation and sperm and testicular damage. In conclusion, CP-induced lipid peroxidation leads to structural and functional damage, as well as apoptosis, in spermatogenic cells of rats. Both LC and EA protect against the development of these detrimental effects.

Protective effects of ellagic acid in d-galactosamine-induced kidney damage in rats

“…EA is a naturally occurring plant polyphenol (Soong and Barlow 2004) that exhibits antioxidative properties both in vivo (Hassoun et al 1997) and in vitro (Seeram et al 2005). EA has wide array of biological properties, ranging from radical scavenging, to chemopreventive (Atessahin et al 2006;Turk et al 2008) and antiapoptotic properties (Turk et al 2010). The antioxidant effects of EA on cytotoxicity have been evaluated by different studies.…”

Anti-inflammatory effect of lycopene on endotoxin-induced uveitis in rats

“…It has been reported that dietary intake of tomato and tomato-derived products can reduce the risks of chronic diseases and various cancers, especially prostate cancer (8,9) . Lycopene is a potent antioxidant as well as an inhibitor of proinflammatory and prothrombotic factors (10) , although the mechanisms for these additional activities have not been clarified. Lycopene was shown to inhibit formation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in macrophages (11,12) .…”

Exercise protects rat testis from cyclophosphamide-induced damage

“…Biological Sciences Maringá, v. 35, n. 1, p. 105-113, Jan.-Mar., 2013 SELVAKUMAR et al, 2006;TURK et al, 2010). CP toxic effects on testis were mainly attributed to oxidative stress on seminiferous tubules and Sertoli cells, impairing spermatogenis and androgenesis, and inducing germinal cells apoptosis (ILBEY et al, 2009;MOTAWI et al, 2010;REZVANFAR et al, 2008;TURK et al, 2010).…”