What Are The Effects of Silibinin on Testicular Tissue of Mice?

Abstract

Silibinin (silybin) is one of the structural isomers of the flavonoid silymarin, and it has wide variety of phytotherapeutic applications and the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different doses of silibinin on testicular tissue of mice. Twenty male Swiss albino mice were divided into four groups. Each group consist of five animal, (Group 1) (negative control) animals were administered single intraperitoneal (IP) daily dose of phosphate buffer for 5 days, Groups (2, 3, and 4) were given a single IP daily dose of either (50, 100 or 150 mg/kg B.wt.) of silibinin respectively for 5 days. Microscopic examinations of sperms, histological examinations of testes and serum testosterone level had been measured. It was found that silibinin in doses of (100 or 150) mg/Kg produced a significant increase (P<0.05) in the level of testosterone in comparison with group 1. Also, silibinin in dose of 100 mg/Kg showed a significant increase in the diameter of spermatide, and significant increase was observed in group of animals treated with 150 mg/kg of silibinin concerning the diameter of primary spermatocyte and diameter of spermatide. The results indicate that silibinin can improve some testicular parameters as well as testosterone levels.

Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences

“…It is well known that nickel has various carcinogenic effects on internal organs such as the liver, kidneys and lungs, and a toxic effect on the immune system, genes, blood, nervous system, and reproductive system (Das et al 2008). Several studies have shown the harmful effects of nickel on testicular tissue (Doreswamy et al 2004, Oufi et al 2012. On the basis of the results obtained with the histopathological and immunohistochemical staining of the testicular tissues of Group 4 it was concluded that SB had a protective effect against the adverse effects of nickel sulfate.…”

“…Lukac et al (2014), reported that a single intraperitoneal dose of nickel chloride reduced sperm motility and concentration in adult male mice. Oufi et al (2012) determined that, when administered to mice at several different doses, SB reduced the number of nonviable sperm and improved sperm motility, and also observed that the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa decreased. Similarly, in the present study, in Group 4 it was ascertained that SB had a protective effect against the adverse effects of nickel on sperm.…”

“…Silibinin (SB) is the largest flavonolignan of silymarin, which is found in milk thistle (Silybum marianum) (Bosch-Barrera et al 2017) and has metal-chelating and antioxidant properties (Muthumani and Prabu 2012). SB strongly protects the testes (Oufi et al 2012, Oufi andAlShawi 2014), as a result of the sequelae of antioxidative processes and modulation of the expression of effector proapoptotic caspase3 activity (Ligeret et al 2008). SB was also found effective against arsenic toxicity (Muthumani and Prabu 2012).…”

Efficacy of Saudi propolis and bee pollen in the reduction of oxidative stress induced with CCl4 in a testis mice model

“…However, due to the silymarin antioxidant activity and capacity to defend plasma lipids from oxidation, silymarin was shown to significantly alter the experimental groups ( Thomas et al, 1997 ). A previous study ( Oufi et al, 2012 ) focused on the effect of silybin (One of the structural isoforms of silymarin is silybin) on testicular tissue and proved that this flavonoid can improve testicular parameters such as the diameter of the primary spermatocytes and spermatids, motility of sperm, and percentage of live sperm. In addition, silymarin increased testosterone secretion.…”

Physiological and Histological Study of the Therapeutic Effect of Silibinin on Testicular Alteration in Adult Male Albino Rats

“…So, an increased MDA level is considered an important indicator of lipid peroxidation and subsequently, loss of membrane structures and functions. Testes, rich in PUFA and having high metabolism rates and cell replication and poor antioxidant defenses, are much more vulnerable to peroxidation injury than other tissues [41] . Increased MDA levels in rat testes following TAA exposure were similarly reported in previous studies [42] .…”