The Protective Effects of Fucoidan on Cisplatin Induced Testicular Cytotoxicity in Rats

Abstract

Cisplatin is prevalently used as a chemotherapeutic agent for testis cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, brain tumors and many cancers such as those. Infertility and sterility may emerge, after treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, depending on patient characteristics and the dose of chemotherapeutic agent. Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide, which is derived from brown seaweeds. It is first isolated in 1913 from marine brown algae by Henrik Kylin. Fucoidan is especially found in the cell-wall of marine brown algae. Many effects of fucoidan such as anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-complement, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-coagulant effects have been revealed by many studies in the literature. Furthermore, some studies suggest that fucoidan may enhance the antineoplastic effects of anticancer drugs. Besides beneficial effects of fucoidan, no toxic or adverse effect has been shown to date. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of fucoidan on testicular tissue and its effects on cisplatin induced testicular damage when used concomitantly with cisplatin.

Keywords

• cisplatin
• fucoidan
• rat
• testis