Effect of Erxian Decoction on cyclophosphamide-induced oligospermia in mice.
- Author:
Bo LIU
1
;
Ye-Zi LI
1
;
Qi WU
1
;
Shuo YANG
1
;
Ying WANG
1
;
Hui-Hui XIE
1
;
Zhi-Wen LIU
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Erxian Decoction; cyclophosphamide; oligospermia; oxidative stress
- MeSH: Animals; Cyclophosphamide; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; pharmacology; Epididymis; Glutathione; analysis; Male; Malondialdehyde; analysis; Mice; Oligospermia; chemically induced; drug therapy; Oxidative Stress; Random Allocation; Sperm Count; Sperm Motility; drug effects; physiology; Spermatozoa; drug effects; Superoxide Dismutase; analysis; Testis; anatomy & histology; chemistry; drug effects
- From:National Journal of Andrology 2018;24(6):547-552
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo study the effect of Erxian Decoction (EXD) on oligospermia (OS) induced by cyclophosphamide in mice.
METHODSEighty 6-week-old male Kunming mice were randomly divided into five groups of equal number, normal control, OS model control, and low-, medium- and high-dose EXD, the former two groups treated intragastrically with normal saline and the latter three with EXD at 3, 6 and 12 g per kg of the body weight qd for 30 days. From the 21st day of administration, the mice of the normal control group were injected intraperitoneally with saline and those of the other four groups with cyclophosphamide at 80 mg per kg of the body weight qd for 5 consecutive days. At 24 hours after the last gavage, the bilateral epididymides of the mice were collected and sperm suspension prepared for determination of the sperm count and motility, and the bilateral testes were harvested for histomorphological observation and measurement of the concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MAD) and glutathione (GSH) in the testis tissue.
RESULTSCompared with the normal controls, the mice of the OS model control group showed significant decreases in epididymal sperm concentration ([9.31 ± 1.32] vs [3.32 ± 1.13]×107/ml, P <0.01) and motility ([44.75 ± 8.12]% vs [25.95 ± 11.41], P<0.01) and the concentrations of SOD ([37.27 ± 0.99] vs [14.23 ± 1.99] U/mg prot, P <0.01) and GSH ([101.55 ± 8.74] vs [58.77 ± 8.93] μmol/L, P <0.01) but an obvious increase in the MDA level ([2.21 ± 0.65] vs [2.61 ± 0.15] nmol/mg prot, P <0.05) in the testis tissue. In comparison with the OS model controls, the mice treated with low-, medium- and high-dose EXD exhibited significantly increased epididymal sperm concentration ([8.34 ± 2.59], [8.59 ± 1.10] and [8.41 ± 1.47]×107/ml) (P <0.01) and motility ([36.04 ± 12.33]%, [38.87 ± 13.13]% and [41.90 ± 8.09]%) (P <0.01) and concentrations of SOD ([22.99 ± 1.11], [20.82 ± 1.81] and [21.33 ± 1.66] U/mg prot) (P <0.01) and GSH ([104.74 ± 2.47], [98.61 ± 12.98] and [108.89 ± 5.85] μmol/L) (P <0.01) but decreased level of MDA (P <0.05).
CONCLUSIONSErxian Decoction can improve cyclophosphamide-induced reduction of sperm concentration and motility, which might be associated with its abilities of resisting oxidation and reducing oxidative stress injury.