Ficus natalensis extract alleviates Cadmium chloride-induced testicular disruptions in albino rats.

BACKGROUND

Cadmium is a potential environmental pollutant with worldwide health problems. Many Ficus species are reported to have an extensive diversity of traditional uses, among them the treatment of reproductive toxicity.

OBJECTIVES

This study set out to evaluate the effect of Ficus natalensis extract on the testicular impairments induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl) and investigated the potential mechanisms associated with its treatment.

METHODS

Thus, 40 male albino rats were categorized into 4 groups (n = 10); group I (control), group II (cadmium-treated group) orally received 5 mg/kg/day CdCl for one month, group III (cadmium + Ficus natalensis extract) orally received 5 mg/kg/day CdCl for one month plus 200 mg/kg/day Ficus natalensis extract for another month, and group IV (cadmium + reference drug (mesterolone) orally received 5 mg/kg/day CdCl for one month plus 4.16 mg/kg/day mesterolone for another month.

RESULTS

At the end of experiment, CdCl administration markedly induced histological and histo-morphometric changes with a substantial (p < 0.05) decrease in the sperm count, sperm motility, serum TAC, serum testosterone, downregulation in the mRNA expression levels of testicular 17β-HSD and StAR, in addition to a significant increase in serum TNF-α and testicular MDA level compared to the control group. Conversely, the treatment with Ficus natalensis methanolic extract as well as the reference drug significantly ameliorated the above-mentioned adverse effects induced by CdCl.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggested that Ficus natalensis extract can attenuate the CdCl-induced testicular impairments via inhibiting the oxidative cell damage and inflammation that contributed to CdCl toxicity.