Abstract
BackgroundInfertility is a common complication in diabetic men and experimental animals, mainly due to loss of germ cells by apoptotic cell death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Dracaena arborea in streptozotocin-induced ultra-structural spermatogenic alterations in Wistar rats.MethodsDiabetic animals were orally treated with Millipore water (10 ml/kg), sildenafil citrate (1.44 mg/kg) or Dracaena arborea aqueous (500 mg/kg) and ethanol (100 mg/kg) extracts for three weeks. A group of non diabetic rats received Millipore water (10 ml/kg) and served as healthy control group. Blood glucose was monitored at the beginning and the end of the study. One day after the last treatment, animals were sacrificed and the testes immediately removed were morphologically observed and prepared for electron microscopy analysis of spermatogenesis.ResultsOur results showed that Dracaena arborea was devoid of any anti-hyperglycemic activity. In the untreated diabetic rats, hyperglycemia severely damaged the testes morphology as well as the spermatogenic process as evidenced by the: thickness of basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule; mitochondria alteration; abnormal spermatocyte cells displaying polymorphous nuclei, cytoplasmic vacuolization and necrosis; and disorganization and degeneration of sperm germ cells. Administration of sildenafil citrate and Dracaena arborea extracts to the diabetic rats improved testes morphology and reversed, although not completely, the impairment of spermatogenesis; this alleviating effect was more pronounced in animals treated with the aqueous extract (500 mg/kg) of Dracaena arborea.ConclusionDracaena arborea improves testes morphology and restores spermatogenesis in type 1 diabetic rats, without having major anti-hyperglycemic properties. These effects could be attributed to saponins, flavonoids, phenols and sterols revealed in this plant, which could be a useful component in the treatment of diabetes-induced testicular dysfunction.
Highlights
Infertility is a common complication in diabetic men and experimental animals, mainly due to loss of germ cells by apoptotic cell death
Effect of treatments on the diabetic rat testis morphology Injection of streptozotocin to rats resulted in a severe atrophy of the testes (Figure 1e) compared to healthy rats receiving Millipore water (Figure 1a)
The treatment of animals with either plant extracts (Figure 1b, c) or sildenafil citrate (Figure 1d) for three weeks partially corrected the impaired morphology of the testes
Summary
Infertility is a common complication in diabetic men and experimental animals, mainly due to loss of germ cells by apoptotic cell death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Dracaena arborea in streptozotocin-induced ultra-structural spermatogenic alterations in Wistar rats. Male infertility is a multifactorial disease, with numerous factors contributing to both reduced spermatogenesis and production of dysfunctional sperm – the most prevalent underlying characteristics found in cases of idiopathic type 1 diabetes-induced alterations of spermatogenesis is essential for the development of a strategy to prevent/ alleviate them. Since modern treatment options available for the regulation of testicular function anomalies induced by diabetes are becoming more expensive and often carry serious side effects, many people rely on herbal medicines for health care. We demonstrated that the aqueous (500 mg/kg) and ethanol (100 mg/kg) extracts of Dracaena arborea stimulate copulatory activity of normal and androgen-deprived (castrated) rats through dopaminergic and/or cholinergic pathways [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
