Abstract
However, little evidence has been documented to evaluate the clear specific effects of neem-active ingredients in a rat model. This study aims to evaluate the in vitro effects of nimbolide (tetranortriterpenoids group, one of the main components of neem leaves), particularly on sperm functional studies, and biochemical and molecular events during capacitation in a dose dependent manner. The results showed a dose- and time-dependent decrease in the functional consequence of capacitation process i.e., motility score, percentage of motile spermatozoa, Sperm Motility Index (SMI) and levels of molecular events in sperm followed by declined spontaneous acrosome reaction (AR), which subsequently leads to lesser binding of cauda epididymal sperm to the Zona pellucida (ZP). Biochemical studies have shown that the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, Glutathione reductase (GR) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) decreased significantly while the levels of Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation and lipid peroxidation (LPO) increased significantly in the treated groups indicating nimbolide-induced oxidative stress in rat epididymal sperm. This study confirmed that nimbolide convincingly inhibited sperm motility in rats by blocking certain biochemical pathways, such as energy utilization, and showed that sperm capacitation was associated with a reduction in AR, with changes in antioxidant enzymes reflecting a reduction at the levels of molecular events. This will lead us to produce a special product as a source of a new male contraceptive.
Published Version
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