Ros-Santaella José Luis, Kadlec Martin, Pintus Eliana
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Praha 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Mar 10;10(3):463. doi: 10.3390/ani10030463.
In recent decades, an increasing number of ethnopharmacological studies have been dedicated to medicinal plants from South African fynbos. Among these plants, honeybush ( spp.) has become a popular tea, mainly due to its healthy properties and caffeine-free status. The antioxidant, antimutagenic, and antimicrobial properties of this plant have been reported in several cell types, but its effects on reproductive function are still unknown. Here, we assessed the effects of honeybush () on boar sperm parameters under induced oxidative stress (Fe/ascorbate) and during five days of semen storage at 17 °C without oxidative stress. In both experiments, four concentrations (200, 50, 12.5, and 3.125 µg/mL) of fermented honeybush were tested. Our results show that honeybush enhances sperm parameters, and no toxic effects were observed at any of the tested extract concentrations. Interestingly, honeybush (12.5 µg/mL) improved the sperm motility and kinetic parameters, preserved the plasma membrane integrity, and reduced the lipid peroxidation in the samples exposed to Fe/ascorbate ( < 0.05). In the stored samples, positive effects of honeybush on sperm parameters (motility, kinetics, acrosome, and mitochondria) were observed from 48 h until 120 h of semen storage ( < 0.05). Our results clearly show the protective effects of honeybush on sperm samples, thus promoting its use as a natural source of antioxidants for boar semen.
近几十年来，越来越多的民族药理学研究致力于南非开普植物区系的药用植物。在这些植物中，蜜树茶（ spp.）已成为一种受欢迎的茶，主要因其有益健康的特性且不含咖啡因。这种植物的抗氧化、抗诱变和抗菌特性已在多种细胞类型中得到报道，但其对生殖功能的影响仍不清楚。在此，我们评估了蜜树茶（）在诱导氧化应激（铁/抗坏血酸盐）下以及在17°C无氧化应激的精液储存五天期间对公猪精子参数的影响。在这两个实验中，测试了发酵蜜树茶的四种浓度（200、50、12.5和3.125微克/毫升）。我们的结果表明，蜜树茶可提高精子参数，在任何测试提取物浓度下均未观察到毒性作用。有趣的是，蜜树茶（12.5微克/毫升）改善了精子活力和运动学参数，保持了质膜完整性，并降低了暴露于铁/抗坏血酸盐的样本中的脂质过氧化（<0.05）。在储存的样本中，从精液储存48小时到120小时，观察到蜜树茶对精子参数（活力、运动学、顶体和线粒体）有积极影响（<0.05）。我们的结果清楚地表明了蜜树茶对精子样本的保护作用，从而促进其作为公猪精液抗氧化剂天然来源的应用。
