Effect of Cistanche Tubulosa Extracts on Male Reproductive Function in Streptozotocin⁻Nicotinamide-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Zwe-Ling Kong,Jia-Ling He,Athira Johnson,Fan-Chi Ko,Shu-Chun Cheng

doi:10.3390/nu10101562

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia due to decreased levels of insulin or the inefficiency of the tissue to use it effectively. Infertility is known as a major outcome of diabetes and affects the male reproductive system by causing sperm impairment and gonadal dysfunction. Cistanche tubulosa is a parasitic plant which has the capacity to improve memory, immunity, and sexual ability, reduce impotence, and minimize constipation. This study was focused on the investigation of the anti-inflammatory and protective effects of echinacoside (ECH) in Cistanche tubulosa extract (CTE) on the male reproductive system of the diabetic rats. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and protective effects of CTE were evaluated by both in vitro and in vivo methods. The in vitro results show that the ECH inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and improved StAR, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, and HSD17β3 protein expression. The in vivo analysis was carried out with three doses of echinacoside (ECH) (80, 160, and 320 mg/kg) in CTE. In total, 0.571 mg/kg of rosiglitazone (RSG) was administered as a positive control. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) (65 mg/kg) and nicotinamide (230 mg/kg) in combination with a high-fat diet (45%). The in vivo studies confirmed that the ECH improved blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and lipid peroxidation. It can restore kisspeptin 1 (KiSS1), G protein-coupled receptor GPR 54, suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS-3), and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression in the hypothalamus and recover sex hormone level. Thus, this study confirmed the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and steroidogenesis effects of CTE.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a condition in which there are increased glucose levels in the blood due to the inefficiency of the pancreas in producing enough insulin, or the inability of the body to use it effectively
DPPH radical scavenging assay was conducted for evaluating the antioxidant activity of ECH
Our results show that the production of superoxide anion induced by Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) was increased in the control group and further improvements were observed with both ECH and RES treatments

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a condition in which there are increased glucose levels in the blood due to the inefficiency of the pancreas in producing enough insulin, or the inability of the body to use it effectively. (where the pancreas fails to produce insulin), type 2 (the body fails to use insulin), and gestational diabetes (which occurs during pregnancy). Oxidative stress occurs due to the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants [2] leads to the diabetic condition. Studies show that sperm nuclei, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and mitochondria were significantly damaged in male diabetic patients [3]. Oxidative stress during the transportation of sperm will alter the process of the male reproductive system [4,5]

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