Ficus deltoidea is believed to have a reputation for reducing the risk of diabetes and heart diseases. Diabetes mellitus has been known for many decades to be often associated with infertility and sexual dysfunction in men. Therefore, the current study was designed to evaluate the effects aqueous and ethanolic extract of Ficus deltoidea leaves have on the sperm quality, LDH-C 4 activity and testosterone level of diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by a single intravenous injection of alloxan monohydrate at dose of 150 mg/kg body weight. The concentration of fasting blood glucose was checked after two weeks to confirm the status of diabetes. The alloxan-induced diabetic rats were then orally treated with the aqueous and ethanolic extracts (800mg/kg) for four weeks. Metformin was used as a positive control in the study. The injection of alloxan monohydrate significantly decreased the sperm count, LDH-C 4 activity and testosterone level by 55.7%, 48.4% and 45.8% respectively. However, oral administration of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Ficus deltoidea leaves had significantly improved the sperm count, LDH-C 4 activity and testosterone concentration in diabetic rats. These treatments also significantly decreased the blood glucose levels and sperm abnormalities. We conclude that Ficus deltoidea has significant beneficial effects on the sperm count, motility, LDH-C4 enzyme and testosterone level and could be an effective treatment for maintaining healthy sperm parameters and male reproductive function in diabetic rats.

Objective: Elevated levels of leptin may be responsible directly for progression and severity of renal disease in obesity and hypertension. It may exert its effects by promoting fibrosis through the actions of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and the Smad pathway. This study determines the effect of leptin administration on the development of renal fibrosis in nonobese spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Methods:Male SHRs, aged 12-14 weeks, were injected with either leptin (60 µg/kg/day) or saline (for the control group) subcutaneously daily for 42 days. At the end of the experimental period, animals were euthanized and their kidneys were removed. The right kidney was harvested for the determination of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3, and bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7). The left kidneys were stored in neutral buffered 10% formalin until they were processed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Prepared slides were examined under light microscopy. 30 consecutive glomeruli were examined for the cell counts based on the number of nuclei seen and the total area of glomeruli.Results: No significant difference was evident in renal function between control and leptin-treated rats. Cellularity and area of glomeruli were also not different between the two groups. mRNA expression of TGF-β1, Smad2, and BMP7 were, however, higher in leptin-treated rats.Conclusion: It appears that 6 weeks of leptin administration increases renal TGF-β1 and Smad2 levels but with little morphological changes in the kidney. Whether the elevated BMP7 expression was responsible for lack of effect of leptin on renal morphological changes remains unclear.