Antagonistic effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on the impaired reproductive system of male rats induced by local subchronic exposure to ⁶⁰Co‐γ irradiation

Abstract

Lycium barbarum, a famous Chinese medicinal herb, has a long history of use in traditional medicine as an antioxidant and to promote sexual fertility. Polysaccharides are the most important functional constituents in L. barbarum fruits. In this study, male rats were exposed to subchronic (60)Co-γ irradiation to investigate the effects of LBP on sperm quantity and motility, sexual ability, serum hormone levels, oxidative status and testicular tissue DNA damage on days 1, 7 and 14 of treatment. It was found that LBP significantly increased the sperm quantity and motility, shortened the erection, capture and ejaculation latencies, increased the number of captures and ejaculations, and improved the sexual ability of male rats. LBP also played a significant role in the recovery of serum testosterone levels, increased superoxide dismutase activity, decreased malondialdehyde levels, promoted oxidative balance and rescued testicular DNA damage. In conclusion, LBP has significant protective effects against damage induced by local subchronic exposure to (60)Co-γ irradiation, allowing rats to achieve near-complete recovery with LBP treatment.

Polysaccharides from Wolfberry Prevents Corticosterone-Induced Inhibition of Sexual Behavior and Increases Neurogenesis

“…The ‘rescuing’ effect of LBP on male sexual behavior suggests that LBP may be useful to treat male sexual dysfunction. This notion agrees with previous studies in which castration and irradiation on reproductive tissues suppressed male mating behavior, while LBP improved the mating ability of the affected rats [11], [12]. Apart from behavioral aspect, LBP may exert its beneficial effects on the reproductive system at cellular level.…”

“…Daily consumption of wolfberry juice improves the well-being feeling towards sexuality, including increase in sexual activity and ability [3]. Several studies which focused on the reproductive system showed that LBP was beneficial to male reproduction in several aspects: first, the sexual performance of hemicastrated rats could be improved by LBP treatment [11]; second, the quality, quantity and motility of sperms were increased [12] after LBP treatment;,third, damage of testis and seminiferous epithelium by different insults, such as hyperthermia, H 2 O 2 and irradiation, were prevented by LBP [10], [11]; and finally, decreases in testosterone of hemicastrated or irradiated rats were reversed by LBP [11], [12]. These findings provided evidence to support the notion that LBP exerts therapeutic effects on male sexual performance and fertility, although the mechanisms underlying the effects remain largely unclear.…”

Protective effects of <i>Lycium barbarum</i> polysaccharide on male sexual dysfunction and fertility impairments by activating hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis in streptozotocin-induced type-1 diabetic male mice

“…One of the Gouqi's main active ingredient is Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), which have shown multiple pharmacological activities such as hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-aging, antitumor, and immunomodulation et al [27,28]. A wide array of studies confirmed that sexual functionality, sperm quality as well as the serum endocrine hormone levels were significant improved after administration of LBP in rat in the following reproductive damage models such as corticosterone-induced inhibition of the sexual behavior [29], radiation-induced spermatogenic damage [30] and bisphenol A-induced testis spermatogenic injuries [31]. Based on the above considerations, we hypothesized that LBP might minimize fertility impairment in secondary complications of diabetes.…”

Administration of Goji (Lycium chinense Mill.) Extracts Improves Erectile Function in Old Aged Rat Model

“…The traditional therapeutic effects of goji have made the plantefic experiments. Several clinical studies, in vivo animal, and in vitro cell studies have reported the efficacy of goji (antioxidant effects) fore [1415161718192024]. …”

“…Dursun et al [18] demonstrated that ischemic injury with testes torsion was decreased by the goji extract treatment via peritoneal injection. Several studies reported that goji extracts have an antioxidant effect on the reproductive system of male rats [171920]. …”