Resveratrol attenuates metabolic, sperm, and testicular changes in adult Wistar rats fed a diet rich in lipids and simple carbohydrates.
- Author:
Fabiana A DE OLIVEIRA
1
;
Waldemar S COSTA
1
;
Francisco J B SAMPAIO
1
;
Bianca M GREGORIO
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords: cafeteria diet; morphology; resveratrol; spermatozoa; testicle
- MeSH: Animals; Antioxidants/therapeutic use*; Blood Glucose; Cell Proliferation/drug effects*; Diet, High-Fat; Hyperglycemia/metabolism*; Lipids/blood*; Male; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Resveratrol/therapeutic use*; Sperm Motility/drug effects*; Spermatozoa/metabolism*; Testis/metabolism*
- From: Asian Journal of Andrology 2019;21(2):201-207
- CountryChina
- Language:English
- Abstract: High-fat diets affect male reproduction and sexual function. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of prolonged resveratrol administration on the metabolic, sperm, and testicular parameters of rats fed a cafeteria diet. Male Wistar rats were divided at weaning into control (C, n = 20) and cafeteria (CAF, n = 16) groups. At 3 months, half of them were given daily supplementations of resveratrol (C-R, n = 10; CAF-R, n = 8) at a dosage of 30 mg kg-1 body mass for 2 months. Animals were killed at 5 months of age, and blood, spermatozoa, and testes were collected for further analysis. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The CAF diet promoted hyperglycemia (P < 0.0001), and treatment with resveratrol reversed this condition (P < 0.0001). The CAF diet reduced sperm viability and motility, while resveratrol improved these parameters (P < 0.05). Regarding testicular morphology, the height of the seminiferous epithelium was reduced in the CAF group compared with that of the C group (P = 0.0007). Spermatogenic cell proliferation was also reduced in the CAF group compared with that of the C group. However, the CAF-R showed an increase in cell proliferation rate compared with that of the untreated CAF group (P = 0.0024). Although it did not modify body mass, the consumption of a CAF diet promoted hyperglycemia, adverse testicular morphology remodeling, and abnormal sperm, which were attenuated by treatment with resveratrol, thus suggesting a protective effect of this antioxidant on spermatogenesis.
