Tetracarpidium conophorum ameliorates oxidative reproductive toxicity induced by ethanol in male rats.

S F Akomolafe,G Oboh,A A Akindahunsi,A J Afolayan

doi:10.1186/s12906-015-0960-5

Abstract

BackgroundTetracarpidium conophorum (Mull. Arg.) Hutch. & Dalz is one of the many medicinal plants used for ages in folklore as male fertility enhancers. The current study evaluates the effect of the plant leaf extract on alcohol - induced reproductive toxicity in male rats.MethodsThirty rats were randomly divided into six groups of five animals each; Group 1 (positive control) received normal saline only; Group 2 (ethanol alone) were given only 30 % ethanol orally at 7 ml/kg body weight per day, thrice in a week; Group 3, 4, 5 were given ethanol and co-treated with 50 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg body weight of leaf extract respectively while Group 6 were given ethanol and co-treated with a fertility drug, clomiphene citrate. All the drugs were given daily and the experiment lasted for twenty one consecutive days.ResultsAlcohol ingestion resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in water, food intake and marked elevation of lipid peroxidation as assessed by the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the reproductive tissues. Precisely, MDA level was elevated in the testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate gland by 81 %, 63 %, 95 % and 91 %, respectively. Furthermore, levels of total protein, reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin C and activities of antioxidant enzymes in the reproductive tissues were significantly (p < 0.0001) reduced in ethanol-ingested rats. Interestingly, co-administration of T. conophorum with ethanol led to almost complete inhibition of lipid peroxidation thereby enhancing antioxidant status of the reproductive tissues.ConclusionOverall, T. conophorum ameliorates oxidative reproductive toxicity induced by ethanol in male rats and its ameliorative effect comparable well with the fertility drug, clomiphene citrate.

Highlights

The testicular free radical damage is due to higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) which normally provides the sperm cells with the structural fluidity required to engage in the membrane fusion event associated with fertilization [3], low oxygen tension and lack of antioxidant defence mechanism [4], which renders it vulnerable to oxidative damage by chain reactions, a condition called lipid peroxidation [5]
We reported the presence of gallic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, coumarin, rutin, quercitrin, quercetin, kaempferol and luteolin as the major constituents of the aqueous extract of the plant leaves [11] and we established that Tetracarpidium conophorum elicited anti-peroxidative effect in reproductive tissues of Wistar rats [12], in continuation with our search we tried to check the influence of the plant leaf extract on alcohol-induced oxidative reproductive toxicity, of which alcohol has been established by many authors to induce testicular toxicity [13,14,15,16]
The cotreatment of rats with the T. conophorum extract for 21 days caused a significant decrease in their body weights (1.71, 6.85 and 0.34 %) at 50, 500 and 1000 mg/ kg respectively while the standard drug caused a weight loss of 8.72 % when compared with the alcohol groups (14.44 %)

Summary

Introduction

Male infertility can be caused by various conditions such as genetic abnormality, infection of reproductive organ as well as oxidative stress due to a surplus of free radicals [1]. The free radicals inhibit the mitochondrial function of the sperm cells, retarding their movement and initiating teratozoospermia. The testicular free radical damage is due to higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) which normally provides the sperm cells with the structural fluidity required to engage in the membrane fusion event (capacitation) associated with fertilization [3], low oxygen tension and lack of antioxidant defence mechanism [4], which renders it vulnerable to oxidative damage by chain reactions, a condition called lipid peroxidation [5]. Sperm cells possess cytoplasmic antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione

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Conclusion