Ameliorating impacts of ginseng on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and sperm quality in temporal lobe epilepsy rat model treated with valproate

Abstract

Both epilepsy and valproate (VPA), as an antiepileptic drug, negatively affect male sexual function. The present study was conducted to evaluate the ameliorating impacts of ginseng on sperm quality, architecture of seminiferous epithelium and spermatogenic cell apoptosis in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) animal model treated with VPA. Fifty-six adult male rats were divided into seven groups including untreated control (Co), epilepsy (E), valproate (V), epilepsy-valproate (EV), epilepsy-ginseng (EG), valproate-ginseng (VG) and epilepsy-valproate-ginseng (EVG). Animals received daily intraperitoneal injections of valproate and ginseng for 30 days. We observed a significant decline in bilateral testes' weight and sperm counts, along with reduction in normal morphology in the EV group. Ginseng sharply improved both sperm counts and spermatozoa with normal morphology in EVG animals. Although sperm motility decreased in V and EV groups, ginseng ameliorated sperm motility in VG and EVG animals. Besides, VPA sharply decreased spermatogenesis quality and increased germ cell apoptosis. Finally, ginseng significantly diminished apoptosis in VG rats and improved spermatogenesis in both VG and EVG groups. In conclusion, ginseng treatment has shown a positive impact on spermatogenesis and sperm quality in TLE rats treated with VPA. Therefore, it may be a beneficial adjuvant along with VPA treatment in the epileptic patient. K E Y W O R D S epilepsy, ginseng, rat, testis, valproate How to cite this article: Ganjkhani M, Nourozi S, Bigonah R, Rostami A, Shokri S. Ameliorating impacts of ginseng on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells and sperm quality in temporal lobe epilepsy rat model treated with valproate.

Protective role of vitamin E in testicular development of mice exposed to valproic acid

“…In pubertal mice, the marking was in the proliferative cells of the germinal epithelium, such as spermatogonia and spermatocytes, being also higher compared with those treated with VE. This is related to a higher number of TUNEL positive cells in spermatogonia and spermatocytes of rats subjected to VPA (Cansu et al, 2011) and with another study where the apoptotic germ cell count was higher (Ganjkhani et al, 2019). Apoptosis in male germ cells occurs during prenatal development in pre-spermatogonia or gonocytes, as the male gonad differentiates and adjustments must be made to achieve the optimal ratio of germ cells and sustentacular cells (Aitken et al, 2011).…”

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