Protective effects of vitamin C on hormonal level and testicular histopathology of rabbit bucks with metronidazole-induced toxicity

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluates the protective effects of Vitamin C on hormonal level and testicular histopathology in rabbit bucks with metronidazole-induced toxicity. Methods: Twenty adult rabbit bucks which were weighed and divided into four groups with five in each group were used for the study. Group I is the control, group II was given metronidazole 400 mg/kg/day for 30 days, group III was co-administered 400 mg/kg/day of metronidazole and 200 mg/kg/day of Vitamin C for 30 days and group IV was given 200 mg/kg/day Vitamin C for 30 days. At the end of the experiment, the rabbit bucks were weighed, and blood samples were collected from the marginal ear vein into a plain bottle and serum extracted through centrifugation for hormonal assay. FSH, LH and Testosterone assay were carried out using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits according to manufacturers’ instruction. One testis from each rabbit was removed for testicular histology. Results: The study found out that there was no significant difference in the body weights of the rabbit bucks before and after the experiment, metronidazole significantly (p < 0.05) affects hormonal concentration in the bucks and there was significant improvement following vitamin C administration. The study also found out that metronidazole caused testicular degeneration which was reversed by Vitamin C administration. Conclusion: Vitamin C has protective effect against metronidazole-induced toxicity and its use in therapeutic application in prolong use of metronidazole is recommended.