Rezakhaniha Bijan, Heidari Reza, Abbasi Mehdi
Department of Urology, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Anatomy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Andrologia. 2018 Oct;50(8):e13058. doi: 10.1111/and.13058. Epub 2018 Jun 6.
Excessive production of reactive oxygen species is a central mechanism in the pathology of varicocele; Melissa officinalis (MO) is a medicinal plant from the Lamiaceae family that has antioxidant activity. In this study, we have investigated the potential therapeutic effect of MO on sperm parameters and chromatin structure in varicocelised rat. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control, sham, varicocele, MO treatment and placebo groups. Rats in varicocele, MO treatment and placebo groups underwent left varicocele induction. Following the operation, rats in placebo and MO treatment groups received normal saline or MO extract, daily for 10 weeks respectively. At 10 weeks after varicocele induction, sperm chromatin and parameters were evaluated in all groups. Chromatin structure was evaluated by aniline blue, acridine orange and toluidine blue staining. All three staining outcomes were increased in varicocele and placebo compared control (and sham) groups (p < 0.05). Sperm count, motility, morphology and vitality were decreased between varicocele and control (and sham) group (p < 0.05). Sperm parameters and chromatin staining (else AB staining) outcomes improve in MO treatment compared to varicocele and placebo groups (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that MO ameliorate the harmful effect of varicocele on sperm parameters and chromatin structure.
活性氧的过度产生是精索静脉曲张病理过程中的核心机制；蜜蜂花是一种来自唇形科的药用植物，具有抗氧化活性。在本研究中，我们研究了蜜蜂花对精索静脉曲张大鼠精子参数和染色质结构的潜在治疗作用。雄性Wistar大鼠被随机分为对照组、假手术组、精索静脉曲张组、蜜蜂花治疗组和安慰剂组。精索静脉曲张组、蜜蜂花治疗组和安慰剂组的大鼠接受左侧精索静脉曲张诱导。手术后，安慰剂组和蜜蜂花治疗组的大鼠分别每天接受生理盐水或蜜蜂花提取物，持续10周。在精索静脉曲张诱导10周后，评估所有组的精子染色质和参数。通过苯胺蓝、吖啶橙和甲苯胺蓝染色评估染色质结构。与对照组（和假手术组）相比，精索静脉曲张组和安慰剂组的所有三种染色结果均增加（p<0.05）。精索静脉曲张组与对照组（和假手术组）之间的精子数量、活力、形态和活力降低（p<0.05）。与精索静脉曲张组和安慰剂组相比，蜜蜂花治疗组的精子参数和染色质染色（除AB染色外）结果有所改善（p<0.05）。这些发现表明，蜜蜂花可改善精索静脉曲张对精子参数和染色质结构的有害影响。
