Phyllanthus emblica leaf extract ameliorates testicular damage in rats with chronic stress.

Supatcharee Arun; Jaturon Burawat; Supataechasit Yannasithinon; Wannisa Sukhorum; Akgpol Limpongsa; Sitthichai Iamsaard

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Phyllanthus emblica leaf extract ameliorates testicular damage in rats with chronic stress.

Author: Supatcharee ARUN ¹ ; Jaturon BURAWAT ¹ ; Supataechasit YANNASITHINON ¹ ; Wannisa SUKHORUM ² ; Akgpol LIMPONGSA ³ ; Sitthichai IAMSAARD ¹
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1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
2. School of Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
3. Center for Research and Development of Herbal Health Product, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Phyllanthus emblica L. leaf extract; Chronic stress; Testicular damage; Tyrosine phosphorylation
MeSH: Acrosome Reaction; Animals; Antioxidants/pharmacology*; Corticosterone/blood*; Epididymis/metabolism*; Male; Malondialdehyde/blood*; Phosphoproteins/metabolism*; Phosphorylation; Phyllanthus emblica/chemistry*; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Plant Leaves/chemistry*; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sperm Count; Spermatogenesis/drug effects*; Spermatozoa/drug effects*; Stress, Physiological; Testis/drug effects*; Testosterone/blood*; Tyrosine/chemistry*
From: Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2018;19(12):948-959
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: Stress affects the male reproductive system and can cause sub-fertility or infertility. Although Phyllanthus emblica L. (PE) extract has been shown to have high antioxidant capacity and protective properties in damaged tissue, the preventive effects of PE extract on testicular function from stress-related impairment have never been demonstrated. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PE aqueous leaf extract on testicular impairment and protein marker changes in rats suffering from chronic stress. Adult male rats were divided into four groups: a control group, a chronic stress (CS) group, and two groups with CS that received different doses of PE extract (50 or 100 mg/kg body weight (BW)). In the treatment groups, the animals were given PE extract daily before stress induction for 42 consecutive days. Stress was induced through immobilization (4 h/d) followed by forced cold swimming (15 min/d). Sperm quality and the histology of the testes and caudal epididymis were examined, as were levels of serum corticosterone, testosterone, and malondialdehyde (MDA). The expressions of testicular steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were investigated using immuno-Western blot analysis, as these proteins are assumed to play important roles in spermatogenesis and androgen synthesis. The results showed that PE (50 mg/kg BW) significantly increased sperm concentration and testosterone levels, while decreasing corticosterone levels, MDA levels, sperm head abnormalities, and acrosome-reacted sperm in CS rats. In addition, PE at both doses was found to diminish testicular histopathology in the CS rats. We also found that 50 mg/kg BW of PE significantly improved StAR protein expression and altered the intensities of some tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in testis. We conclude that PE leaf extract at 50 mg/kg BW can prevent testicular damage in rats with CS.