Dracaena arborea alleviates ultra-structural spermatogenic alterations in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

BackgroundInfertility is a common complication in diabetic men and experimental animals, mainly due to loss of germ cells by apoptotic cell death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Dracaena arborea in streptozotocin-induced ultra-structural spermatogenic alterations in Wistar rats.MethodsDiabetic animals were orally treated with Millipore water (10 ml/kg), sildenafil citrate (1.44 mg/kg) or Dracaena arborea aqueous (500 mg/kg) and ethanol (100 mg/kg) extracts for three weeks. A group of non diabetic rats received Millipore water (10 ml/kg) and served as healthy control group. Blood glucose was monitored at the beginning and the end of the study. One day after the last treatment, animals were sacrificed and the testes immediately removed were morphologically observed and prepared for electron microscopy analysis of spermatogenesis.ResultsOur results showed that Dracaena arborea was devoid of any anti-hyperglycemic activity. In the untreated diabetic rats, hyperglycemia severely damaged the testes morphology as well as the spermatogenic process as evidenced by the: thickness of basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule; mitochondria alteration; abnormal spermatocyte cells displaying polymorphous nuclei, cytoplasmic vacuolization and necrosis; and disorganization and degeneration of sperm germ cells. Administration of sildenafil citrate and Dracaena arborea extracts to the diabetic rats improved testes morphology and reversed, although not completely, the impairment of spermatogenesis; this alleviating effect was more pronounced in animals treated with the aqueous extract (500 mg/kg) of Dracaena arborea.ConclusionDracaena arborea improves testes morphology and restores spermatogenesis in type 1 diabetic rats, without having major anti-hyperglycemic properties. These effects could be attributed to saponins, flavonoids, phenols and sterols revealed in this plant, which could be a useful component in the treatment of diabetes-induced testicular dysfunction.

Phytotherapy in reducing glycemic index and testicular oxidative stress resulting from induced diabetes: a review

“…Mallick et al (2007Mallick et al ( , 2010, Golalipour et al (2011), Chatterjee et al (2012 and Ghosh et al (2014) slightly recovered the tubular diameter, epithelium height and number of germ cells at stage VII of the seminiferous epithelium cycle. The methods used by Golalipour et al (2011), Chatterjee et al (2012, Ukwenya et al (2013) and Wankeu-Nya et al (2013) partly restored the organization and integrity of the germinal epithelium.…”

Testicular immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural changes associated with chronic cholestasis in rats: Effect of ursodeoxycholic acid

“…Such thickening results in the impairment of the transportation of oxygen, metabolites and hormones to the germinal epithelium [37], and end in testicular dysfunction [38,39]. The thickening of the basement membrane was reported in other models of testicular injury [36,40,41].…”

Antidiabetic therapies and male reproductive function: where do we stand?

“…In fact, this degenerative disease was described to affect not only sperm quality and function R S Tavares and others R14 (Bartak et al 1975, Padron et al 1984, Handelsman et al 1985, Vignon et al 1991, Baccetti et al 2002, Soudamani et al 2005, Amaral et al 2006, Scarano et al 2006, Agbaje et al 2007, Delfino et al 2007, Shrilatha & Muralidhara 2007a, Rama Raju et al 2012, Roessner et al 2012, Schoeller et al 2012a, Mangoli et al 2013 but also the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG) (Benitez & Perez Diaz 1985, Seethalakshmi et al 1987, Sudha et al 2000, Baccetti et al 2002, Lopez-Alvarenga et al 2002, Ballester et al 2004, Kim & Moley 2008, Schoeller et al 2012b, the testicular function and spermatogenesis (Cameron et al 1985, Gondos & Bevier 1995, Sanguinetti et al 1995, Sainio-Pollanen et al 1997, Ballester et al 2004, Arikawe et al 2006, Amaral et al 2009, Kianifard et al 2012, Schoeller et al 2012b, Wankeu-Nya et al 2013, Kyathanahalli et al 2014, Tavares et al 2016, the accessory organs (epididymis, prostate and seminal vesicles) (Murray et al 1981, Fukumoto et al 1993, Ikeda et al 2000, Saito et ...…”