Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Mar 2018)

The Protective Effect of Royal Jelly on Testicular Tissue and Sperm Parameters in Adult Mice Treated with Nicotine

  • F Azad,
  • V Najati,
  • A Shalizar jalali,
  • Gh Najafi,
  • F Rahmani

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 3
pp. 50 – 58

Abstract

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: As a medicinal compound, nicotine has adverse effects on the male reproductive system. Since royal jelly can modify the oxidative stress through its antioxidant properties, this study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of royal jelly on testicular tissue and sperm parameters in adult mice treated with nicotine. METHODS: In this experimental study, 36 adult male mice were randomly divided into six groups of six. The first group received physiologic serum, the second group received royal jelly at 100 mg / kg / day, and the third and fourth groups received nicotine at 0.5 mg / kg / day and 1 mg / kg / day, respectively. The fifth and sixth groups received 0.5 mg / kg / day and 1 mg / kg / day royal jelly in addition to nicotine, respectively. After weighing and dissection, left testicles were used for histological studies and left epididymal sperm were used for sperm evaluations. FINDINGS: Nicotine caused a significant decrease in spermatogonial cells (0.5: 36.40±2.92 and 1: 31.80±5.12) and significant increase in non-motile (0.5: 36.40±2.92 and 1: 31.80±5.12), dead (0.5: 19.06±0.71 and 1: 25.38±1.41) and abnormal (0.5: 17.07±0.68 and 1: 32.25±1.27) sperm compared with the control group (8.12±0.27, 11.08±1.03 and 8.36±0.61, respectively) (p<0.05). The co-administration of royal jelly significantly reduced the spermatogonial cell count (0.5+royal jelly: 43.25±3.80 and 1+royal jelly: 42.22±5.28) and improved the amount of non-motile (0.5+royal jelly: 11.01±1.49 and 1+royal jelly: 12.36±1.21), dead (0.5+royal jelly: 11.73±0.97 and 1+royal jelly: 12.31±1.07) and abnormal (0.5+royal jelly: 10.62±0.85 and 1+royal jelly: 11.82±0.96) sperm compared with groups treated with nicotine. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that royal jelly reduces reproductive toxicity of nicotine in mice by improving the testicular structure and sperm parameters.

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