Silymarin effect as an antioxidant to improve damages induced by CCl4 on some characteristics of male rats reproductive system

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effect of oxidative stress induced by carbon tetrachloride(CCl4) on some characters of male rat reproductive system. Twenty male albino rats were divided into 4 groups, 5 for each included, control group, CCl4 group, silymarin group and silymarin plus CCl4 group. Groups with silymarin received dose (150mg/kg) and group with CCl4 received (3ml/kg) at the end of experiment. The period of the study was 35 days. CCl4 can induce male reproductive toxicity through damage testis structure, weights, reduction in epididymis, sperm count, morphology, viability and motility. Silymarin plays its antioxidant role with scavenging free radical resulted by CCl4 and showed significant increasing in body and testis weight, normal sperms counting and vital sperms in compared to CCl4 group.