Protective effect ofZingiber officinaleextract on rat testis after cyclophosphamide treatment

Abstract

Decreasing the side effects of chemotherapy in testis has been the subjects of many studies. In this study, the protective effects of Zingiber officinale extract on rat testis were investigated after chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide. Histological and biochemical parameters were compared in cyclophosphamide-treated rats with or without ginger extract intake. Wistar male rats were randomly divided into four groups each 10. The control group received a single injection of 1 ml isotonic saline intraperitoneally. The Cyclophosphamide (CP) group received a single dose of cyclophosphamide (100 mg kg(-1) BW) intraperitoneally. CP + 300 and CP + 600 groups received orally 300 or 600 mg of ginger extract, respectively, for a period of 6 weeks after cyclophosphamide injection. The morphologic and histological structure of the testis was compared in different groups of the rats. Also, factors like malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species, total antioxidant capacity and testosterone level were assessed in blood serum as well. Our results showed that although ginger extract could not change testis weight, malondialdehyde (MDA) and ROS, but antioxidant and testosterone levels in serum were increased significantly. Also, an obvious improved histological change was seen in CP + 300 and CP + 600 groups in comparison with CP group. These protective effects of ginger on rat testis after cyclophosphamide treatment could be attributed to the higher serum level of antioxidants.

Ginger ameliorates reproductive toxicity of formaldehyde in male mice: Evidences for Bcl-2 and Bax

“…In this research, Ginger extract improved sperm parameters when administrated simultaneously with FA. This results confirm previous reports (19,20,(37)(38)(39). It might be due to Ginger could prevent from apoptosis or/ and due to decrease of ROS in testis tissue.…”

“…Furthermore, it led to the reduction of lipid peroxidation in the testes. These findings have been proved by previous studies (11,18,38,47). As a pro-apoptotic protein, Bax leads to mitochondrial membrane release of cytochrome C into cytoplasm which results in activation of caspase and starting of apoptosis process.…”

“…It might be due to Ginger could prevent from apoptosis or/ and due to decrease of ROS in testis tissue. Mohammadi et al (38) indicated that Ginger extract could cause a significant increase in Sertoli cells. Therefore, the increase in Sertoli cells might be one reason for the significant improvement of spermatogenesis.…”

The influence of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on human sperm quality and DNA fragmentation: A double-blind randomized clinical trial

“…Ginger also contains [6]-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 10-gingerol and 12-gingerol, which have similar anti-oxidate properties (27, 31). Animal modeling showed that ginger significantly lowered induced lipid peroxidation and amplified the levels of antioxidant enzymes, quantity and quality of sperm and plus serum glutathione (9, 16, 17, 32). …”

“…It was also observed that the administration of ginger can significantly increase the testosterone level in plasma and stimulate spermatogenesis (17, 18). Although the effectiveness of ginger as an antioxidant agent has been exploited in animals, little human research has been conducted on its activity on male reproductive functions (19).…”