Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how well whey might protect against aging related alterations in sperm structure, seminal and antioxidant enzymes and serum hormonal profiles. Male Wistar albino rats aged 8 and 30-months were divided into two primary groups with or without whey supplementation (n = 8). After the experiments of whey supplementation, the rats were euthanized, blood was collected, and serum was separated. Sperm ultrastructure and flow cytometry of annexin-V and mitochondrial membrane potential were carried out. Seminal antioxidant and malondialdehyde concentrations were determined. Serum hormonal profiles of testosterone, growth (GH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as well as pituitary gland ultrastructure were investigated. Results showed that whey supplementation improved the structure and function of sperm and seminal fluid as well as the serum hormonal levels of adult. In aged rats, whey supplementation increased the serum levels of GH, FSH, LH and TSH as well as seminal superoxide dismutase. Whey supplementation also caused reduction of seminal alkaline and acid phosphatases and lipid peroxidation in aged rat compared to that in adult ones. They also improved sperm motility and viability but reduced sperm abnormalities by increasing sperm mitochondrial membrane potential and lowering annexin v levels. In conclusion, whey contains antioxidant components that alleviated oxidative stress involved in damaging sperm macromolecules during aging process.
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