Toxics (Feb 2023)

Reproductive Effects of <i>S. boulardii</i> on Sub-Chronic Acetamiprid and Imidacloprid Toxicity in Male Rats

  • Çiğdem Sevim,
  • Erol Akpınar,
  • Emrah Hicazi Aksu,
  • Ali Doğan Ömür,
  • Serkan Yıldırım,
  • Mehtap Kara,
  • İsmail Bolat,
  • Aristides Tsatsakis,
  • Robin Mesnage,
  • Kirill S. Golokhvast,
  • Sevgi Karabulut Uzunçakmak,
  • Rabia Nilüfer Ersoylu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11020170
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 2
p. 170

Abstract

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The potential health-promoting effects of probiotics against intoxication by pesticides is a topic of increasing commercial interest with limited scientific evidence. In this study, we aimed to investigate the positive effects of probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii on the male reproductive system under low dose neonicotinoid pesticide exposure conditions. We observed that acetamiprid and imidacloprid caused a degeneration and necrosis of the spermatocytes in the tubular wall, a severe edema of the intertubular region and a hyperemia. This was concomittant to increased levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine reflecting oxidative stress, and an increase in caspase 3 expression, reflecting apoptosis. According to our results, Saccharomyces boulardii supplementation mitigates these toxic effects. Further in vivo and clinical studies are needed to clarify the molecular mechanisms of protection. Altogether, our study reinforces the burden of evidence from emerging studies linking the composition of the gut microbiome to the function of the reproductive system.

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