Omolaoye Temidayo S, Rawat Surendra Singh, Shehab Naglaa Gamil, El Nebrisi Eslam, Du Plessis Stefan S
College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai Health, DHCC, P.O.Box 505055, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Research and Graduate Studies, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai Health, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 24;11(3):e42246. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42246. eCollection 2025 Feb 15.
Although monosodium glutamate (MSG), commonly used to enrich food flavour, is generally considered safe for consumption, evidence has shown its adverse effects on physiological functions, including male reproduction, when consumed excessively. (Maca), on the other hand, a plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family, has been shown to have diverse health benefits. The current study investigated pathways through which MSG could induce subfertility, and whether treatment with Maca root extract would proffer amelioration via those routes.
Eighteen male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. Animals were orally (oral gavage) administered MSG (900 mg/kg/day for 45days), MSG and Maca (900 mg/kg/day of MSG and 500 mg/kg/day of black root extract, or water only (control group), for a total period of 80 days. MSG was administered for the first 45 days, followed by Maca or water for the subsequent 35 days. Spermatozoa were collected from the caudal epididymis for sperm assessments. The testis and prostate were used for biochemical assays and immunofluorescent localization of biomarkers of interest.
MSG administration significantly reduced total and progressive sperm motility ( < 0.05), decreased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (p < 0.001), increased mRNA expression of , , in the testis and prostate (p < 0.05), protein expression of GP130 in the testis, reduced serum testosterone, and altered expression of steroidogenic markers. These adverse effects were mildly ameliorated upon treatment with Maca.
Findings highlights how MSG could cause male reproductive dysfunction via reduction of TAC, increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines, alter reproductive hormones and reduced protein expression of steroidogenic markers. Treatment with Maca significantly improved sperm motility, possibly by enhancing TAC levels and reducing proinflammatory cytokines. However, this hypothesis needs further investigation.
尽管常用于增强食物风味的味精通常被认为食用安全，但有证据表明，过量食用味精会对生理功能产生不良影响，包括对男性生殖功能的影响。另一方面，十字花科植物玛咖已被证明具有多种健康益处。本研究调查了味精诱导生育力低下的途径，以及玛咖根提取物治疗是否能通过这些途径改善生育力。
将18只雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为三组。动物通过口服灌胃给予味精（900毫克/千克/天，持续45天）、味精和玛咖（900毫克/千克/天的味精和500毫克/千克/天的黑根提取物）或仅给予水（对照组），为期80天。前45天给予味精，随后35天给予玛咖或水。从附睾尾部收集精子进行精子评估。睾丸和前列腺用于生化分析以及对感兴趣的生物标志物进行免疫荧光定位。
给予味精显著降低了精子的总活力和前向运动能力（p<0.05），降低了总抗氧化能力（TAC）（p<0.001），增加了睾丸和前列腺中、、的mRNA表达（p<0.05），睾丸中GP130的蛋白表达，降低了血清睾酮水平，并改变了类固醇生成标志物的表达。用玛咖治疗后，这些不良反应得到了轻微改善。
研究结果突出了味精如何通过降低TAC、增加促炎细胞因子、改变生殖激素以及降低类固醇生成标志物的蛋白表达来导致男性生殖功能障碍。玛咖治疗显著改善了精子活力，可能是通过提高TAC水平和减少促炎细胞因子来实现的。然而，这一假设需要进一步研究。
