Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Jahrom University, Jahrom, Iran.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Apr 6;269:113702. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113702. Epub 2020 Dec 17.
Oxidative stress is one of the underlying causes of male infertility. Medicinal plants have many benefits for infertility treatment in men.
In the present study, we evaluated in vitro effects of Capparis spinosa leaf extract on human sperm function, DNA fragmentation, and oxidative stress.
We conducted this study on the hydroalcoholic extract of C. spinosa. Polyphenol compounds and antioxidant effects of the leaf and fruit extract were determined by HPLC and DPPH method, respectively. Flavones and flavonols, total flavonoid, total phenolic content, tannin, and the total carbohydrate content were determined calorimetrically. Semen samples from 50 healthy men (20-45 years) were divided into control and experimental (15, 30, and 45 ppm of C. spinosa leaf extract) groups. Motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, and DNA fragmentation were evaluated 24 h after incubation.
The antioxidant effect of leaf extract was six times greater than fruit. Progressive and total motility of caper-treated groups (30 and 45 ppm) were crucially higher than the control group. Viability in all treatments was significantly higher than the control group. There was no significant difference in lipid peroxidation. DNA fragmentation in the caper-treated group (45 ppm) was significantly lower than the control group.
Our results suggest the potential positive in vitro effect of C. spinosa leaf extract on human sperm function. The use of C. spinosa leaf extract or its active metabolites in the sperm culture medium may be beneficial for maintaining motility, vitality, and sperm DNA. Since these effects were observed at very low concentrations of caper, other non-antioxidant mechanisms must be considered.
氧化应激是男性不育的根本原因之一。药用植物对男性不育症的治疗有许多好处。
本研究评估了刺山柑叶提取物对人精子功能、DNA 碎片化和氧化应激的体外影响。
我们对刺山柑的水醇提取物进行了此项研究。通过 HPLC 和 DPPH 法分别测定了叶和果实提取物中的多酚化合物和抗氧化作用。采用比色法测定了类黄酮和黄酮醇、总黄酮、总酚含量、单宁和总碳水化合物含量。将 50 名健康男性（20-45 岁）的精液样本分为对照组和实验组（15、30 和 45ppm 的刺山柑叶提取物）。孵育 24 小时后评估精子活力、活力、脂质过氧化和 DNA 碎片化。
叶提取物的抗氧化作用比果实提取物强六倍。处理组（30 和 45ppm）的渐进性和总活力明显高于对照组。所有处理组的活力均显著高于对照组。脂质过氧化无显著差异。处理组的 DNA 碎片化明显低于对照组。
我们的结果表明，刺山柑叶提取物对人精子功能具有潜在的积极体外影响。在精子培养液中使用刺山柑叶提取物或其活性代谢物可能有助于维持精子的活力、活力和 DNA 完整性。由于这些作用是在非常低的刺山柑浓度下观察到的，因此必须考虑其他非抗氧化机制。
