<i>Lepidium meyenii</i>(Maca) in male reproduction

Tafuri, Simona; Cocchia, N; Vassetti, Anastasia; Carotenuto, Domenico; Esposito, Luigi; Maruccio, Lucianna; Avallone, Luigi; Ciani, Francesca

doi:10.1080/14786419.2019.1698572

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Many studies have focused on the use of natural antioxidants from terrestrial plants to prevent sperm damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) ( 34 – 36 ). Maca is a traditional Andean crop used as a nutraceutical for the fertility-enhancing properties associated with its antioxidant activity ( 37 , 38 ). Moreover, horses with maca dietary supplementation showed an improvement in semen quality during cooling by protecting testicular cell membranes and mitochondria from oxidative stress ( 9 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Oral Administration of Lepidium meyenii on Morphology of Mice Testis and Motility of Epididymal Sperm Cells After Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration is associated with testicular damage and reduced semen quality. Oral administration of Lepidium Meyenii (maca) improves spermatogenesis and sperm motility and count and reduces spermatogenic damage.Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of administration of THC, maca, and their combination on testicular tissue and semen parameters.Materials and Methods: Thirty-six-week-old male mice were classified into control, THC, Maca, and THC + Maca groups. The mice were subjected to Eco Color Doppler ultrasound examination of the testicles before and after treatment. After euthanasia, the epididymis, testes, liver, and kidney were collected for histological examination. For morphometry of the testis, tubular diameters and seminiferous epithelium height were measured. Sperm concentration and sperm motilities were assessed. Differences among the groups were assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's post-hoc test.Results: In all the groups, there were no significant changes in testicular morphology before and after treatment. Histological assessment of the testes showed no alterations in control, no significant alterations in Maca, mild to moderate alterations in THC, and mild alterations in THC + Maca groups. Histological examination of the other organs showed no significant differences among the groups. Tubular diameter showed significantly increased thickening for THC and THC + Maca compared with that for Maca and control. Moreover, seminiferous epithelium height decreased for THC compared with that in the control, Maca, and THC + Maca groups. No statistically significant reduction in the spermatogenic index was observed for THC compared with that for Maca and THC + Maca. Epididymal cross-sections of the groups showed no significant alterations. Sperm concentration and motility were higher for control and THC + Maca groups than in group THC and Maca.Conclusion:In vivo maca administration reduced the deleterious effect of THC on testicular parenchyma and semen production.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Oral Administration of Lepidium meyenii on Morphology of Mice Testis and Motility of Epididymal Sperm Cells After Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Among phytotherapy products, Maca ( Lepidium meyenii ), obtained by the root of a Brassicaceae plant native of Peru, is known since ancient time by Andean population for its nutritional and therapeutic properties (Wang & Zhu, 2019 ). In fact, besides being a medicament for osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, Maca exerts a beneficial effect on female reproduction, male sexual functions and spermatogenesis on different species of mammals (Da Silva Leitão Carvalho et al., 2020 ; Da Silva Leitão Peres et al., 2020 ; Tafuri, Cocchia, Vassetti, et al., 2019 ). The effect of dietary Lepidium meyenii on fresh and cooled stallion semen quality has been evaluated by Del Prete and collaborators (Del Prete et al., 2018 ).…”

Section: Botanical Extractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of nutraceuticals in the stallion: Effects on semen quality and preservation

Bazzano

Laus

Spaterna

et al. 2021

Reprod Domestic Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nutritional supplements are widely used in the equine industry with the aim of improving horse health, sports or reproductive performances. Over the years, a number of studies have focused on investigating the effects of several dietary compounds on the quality and preservation of stallion semen. This paper reviews the literature available on the use of nutritional supplementation for the improvement of reproductive performance and semen quality in equine species, critically appraising the benefits and negative effects of several compounds found in complementary feeds such as PUFAs from different sources, vitamins and antioxidants, carnitine and botanical extracts. Different nutraceuticals have been highlighted to improve stallion fertility by providing optimal levels of antioxidants, with the most promising results obtained by the combination of PUFAs and antioxidants that resulted to be essential for the maintenance of normal reproductive functions and the reduction of cryodamage in cooled and frozen equine semen.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, the effect of sexual hormones in prostate development should consider the evaluation of its receptors expression and activation, since it has been widely established that androgen receptor (AR) promotes prostate growth and reduces apoptosis (Izumi, Mizokami, Lin, Lai, & Chang, 2013), as like oestrogen receptor-a (ERa), while oestrogen receptor-b (ERb) activation arrests cell cycle and promotes apoptosis (McPherson et al, 2010;Paterni, Granchi, Katzenellenbogen, & Minutolo, 2014), thus maintaining prostate size. According to Fano et al (2017), Red Maca would exert its effects through a differential synthesis and activation of AR, ERa and ERb, restoring the expression of the last two by an oestrogenic effect, without affecting the expression of AR (Fano et al, 2017;Tafuri et al, 2019). In a same way, testosterone has been associated with different effects indicating that a testosterone supplementation, thus increasing its levels, could prevent metabolic syndrome BPH (Vignozzi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Moreover Cruciferae Intake Lowers Inflammatory Biomarkers Asmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inflammatory pathway employed by Red Maca to treat induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a pathology characterised by an increase in prostate size associated with low urinary tract symptoms. Finasteride (F), a 5a‐reductase inhibitor, is the standard treatment for BPH reducing prostate weight but also sexual desire. The Peruvian plant known as Red Maca (RM) (Lepidium meyenii) inhibits BPH in rats and mice. The aim of the study was to assess the inflammatory effect of RM and finasteride in rats with testosterone enanthate (TE)‐induced BPH. Thirty rats were divided into 5 groups: Control, TE (50 mg/rat), TE + F (0.6 mg/kg), and two groups of TE + RM 40/80 (40 or 80 mg). After treatments, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFa), interleukin 4 (IL4) and interferon gamma (INFg) as well as testosterone and oestradiol were evaluated and inflammatory cells (neutrophils, mast cells and lymphocytes) in prostate were quantified. Red Maca and finasteride treatments decreased inflammatory cells counts in prostate, inhibiting TNFa by different pathways. Finasteride increased IL4 whereas Red Maca increased INFg. In conclusion, data suggest that finasteride acts on Th2 response by increasing IL4 in prostate, while Red Maca acts on Th1 response mediated by INFg.

show abstract

Lepidium meyenii(Maca) in male reproduction

Cited by 27 publications

References 48 publications

Effects of Oral Administration of Lepidium meyenii on Morphology of Mice Testis and Motility of Epididymal Sperm Cells After Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure

Effects of Oral Administration of Lepidium meyenii on Morphology of Mice Testis and Motility of Epididymal Sperm Cells After Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure

Use of nutraceuticals in the stallion: Effects on semen quality and preservation

Inflammatory pathway employed by Red Maca to treat induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About