Protective effect of Spirulina platensis against testicular toxicity induced by bromoxynil octanoate herbicide through reducing oxidative stress, and inflammation and regulating PPAR-γ/FOXO1/NF-κB and Nrf-2/HO-1 signaling pathways.

The hazardous herbicide Bromoxynil octanoate (BO) has been linked to a number of organ toxicities. Thus, this study's goal was to evaluate Spirulina platensis (S. platensis) and its possible underlying mechanisms for protecting against testicular toxicity caused by BO. Six groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned at random: 1: control, 2: S. platensis (300 mg/kg), 3: S. platensis (500 mg/kg), 4: BO (40 mg/kg): 5: S. platensis (300 mg/kg) + BO, and 6: S. platensis (500 mg/kg) + BO. For 28 days, rats were given a daily oral dose of different treatments. The results exposed that the BO treatment caused substantial rise in MDA, NO, TNF-α, and IL-1β content, and upregulated NF-κB, Caspase-3, FOXO1, and BAX gene expression as relative to the control. Also, the BO treatment produced a significant decline in sperm count and viability, testosterone level, content of SOD, CAT, and GPx, and downregulated PPAR-γ, Nrf-2, HO-1, IL-10, and Bcl-2 gene expression as compared to control. Harmful effects of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptotic markers in the testis tissue were significantly reduced in the rats given S. platensis treatment. The findings may point to S. platensis's ability to protect against testicular toxicity by activating the anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant signaling pathways.