Studies on the phytomodulatory potential of fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum‐graecum ) on bisphenol‐A induced testicular damage in mice

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic synthetic compound and endocrine disruptor, which majorly cause deleterious effects on male reproductory system. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), associated with Leguminosae family is used as a herbal medicine with potent antioxidant properties. The present study was aimed to scrutinise the preventative role of fenugreek seeds aqueous extract (FSEt) on BPA-induced testicular damage in mice. Study included four different groups of male Balb/c mice: contol (C), fenugreek (FSEt), bisphenol A (BPA) and fenugreek + bisphenol A (FSEt + BPA).After two months of treatment, assessment of sperm parameters, antioxidant defence system, histopathological studies, germ cell count and gene expression of intrinsic apoptotic pathway were carried out. Administration of FSEt improved the damage caused by BPA as indicated by improved sperm parameters. FSEt-administered mice showed improvement in the histoarchitecture compared with BPA-administered animals. In addition, fenugreek treatment showed reduced levels of malondialdehyde and elevated levels of antioxidant enzymes. Expression studies of apoptotic markers revealed a significant decrease in the expression of Bcl-2 and significant increase in caspase-9 and caspase-3. However, FSEt restored the deleterious effects caused by BPA. The current findings plausibly might have promising protective role against BPA-induced testicular damage. K E Y W O R D Santioxidants, apoptosis, bisphenol A, fenugreek, oxidative stress

Fighting Bisphenol A-Induced Male Infertility: The Power of Antioxidants

“…BPA disrupts spermatogenesis by inhibiting androgen production and reducing Sertoli cell number and function [ 30 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. Furthermore, BPA exposure decreased the seminiferous tubule diameters and increased tubule atrophy and damage [ 26 , 27 , 85 , 86 , 87 ], induced germinal cell debris and congestion [ 27 , 86 , 88 ], as well as induced the reduction and/or degeneration of spermatocytes [ 25 , 27 , 32 , 89 , 90 ] and other spermatogenic cells [ 22 , 26 , 30 , 86 , 87 , 89 , 90 ]. A recent study in mice showed that chronic exposure to BPA impairs the proliferation of spermatogonia and spermatocytes, resulting in poor sperm quality, especially reduced sperm counts and motility [ 91 ].…”

“…Recently, several phytochemicals [ 88 , 89 ] and plant extracts [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 90 ] showed an ameliorative effect on testicular function and semen quality in human and animal models exposed to BPA. Cordyceps militaris , a medicinal fungus widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, contains many active components, such as cordycepin, polysaccharides, and cordycepin acid, with anti-bacterial, anti-tumour and anti-oxidative properties [ 139 ].…”

“…Similar to C. militaris, the use of these compounds reversed BPA-induced abnormalities in rat sperm, testicular structure, and serum testosterone levels by enhancing StAR, CYP11A1, 3β-HSD, 17β-HSD, and CYP17A1 levels [ 87 ], making them a promising natural resource to develop therapeutic agents. Additionally, the herbal medicines Trigonella foenum-graecum (Fenugreek) and Lespedeza cuneata also have potent antioxidant properties, improving sperm parameters, testis weight and histoarchitecture, testosterone levels, and the levels of antioxidant enzymes in BPA-treated mice [ 90 , 131 ]. In vitro co-treatment of TM4 Sertoli cells with BPA and 50, 100, or 200 µg/mL Lespedeza cuneata ethanol extract for 24h also recovered cell viability by attenuating Bax expression and inactivating caspase 3 and PARP [ 131 ].…”

Selenium attenuates bisphenol A incurred damage and apoptosis in mice testes by regulating mitogen‐activated protein kinase signalling

“…A significant decline in the activities of SOD, CAT and GSH/GSSG ratio, whereas a noticeable increase in the GST activity was observed in the BPA‐induced mice when compared to control mice, which showed toxic effects (increasing the OS) of BPA on the mice testis . Previously published reports also evidenced the BPA‐incited toxicity via disrupting the antioxidant defence system and excess ROS generation (Kaur & Sadwal, 2020; Kaur et al., 2018, 2020). However, Se supplementation restored the activities of all these in Se co‐treated group, presenting its role in eliminating free radicals, and this might be the fundamental compensatory mechanism to avoid the development of the OS.…”

“…It has been stated that BPA exposure induced the oxidative stress (OS) within body and interfere with the function of androgen receptors and male sex hormones by inducing excessive free radicals (Manfo et al., 2014). The OS created by free radicals can cause severe damage to vital components of the cell and also deregulate the inherent repair mechanism, which ultimately leads to cell apoptosis (Kaur & Sadwal, 2020; Kaur et al., 2020). Adverse consequences of BPA exposure on spermatogenesis comprise a marked decline in the weight of prostate and testes, and decreased thickness as well as diameter of seminiferous tubules (Kaur et al., 2020; Qiu et al., 2013).…”