Effects of Nigella sativa (Habbatus sauda) Oil and Nicotine Chronic Treatments on Sperm Parameters and Testis Histological Features of Rats

Abstract

Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats (7–9 weeks old, 200–250 g) were divided into Nicotine (N) (0.5 mg/100 g body weight (BW), Nicotine Control (NC) (saline, 0.1 mL/100 g BW), Habbatus sauda oil (HS) (6.0 μL/100 g BW), and Habbatus sauda Control (HSC) (corn oil, 0.1 mL/100 g BW) groups and treated for 100 days. Sperm parameters and seminiferous tubules measurements were evaluated. The N showed a significantly lower sperm motility (1.03 ± 0.05 × 106 sperm/mL) and percentage of normal (82.61 ± 0.03%) and live (93.88 ± 0.01%) sperm, higher value for the seminiferous tubule (253.36 ± 1.83 μm) and lumen (100.15 ± 2.38 μm) diameters and spermatogonia (19.85 ± 0.39 μm) and spermatocytes (33.37 ± 0.59 μm) layers, and thinner spermatid-sperm layer (22.14 ± 0.71 μm) than the NC (P < 0.05). The HS had significantly higher sperm motility (1.49 ± 0.04 × 106 sperm/mL) and percentage of normal (90.61 ± 0.01%) and live (96.98 ± 0.01%) sperm, smaller lumen diameter (67.53 ± 2.34 μm) and thinner spermatogonia (17.67 ± 0.32 μm) and wider spermatid-sperm (36.95 ± 0.79 μm) layers than the HSC (P < 0.05). This research confirmed that nicotine reduced sperm motility and morphology of normal and live sperms and also affected the testis histology, while Habbatus sauda oil increased sperm quality and gave better testis histological features.

The Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Nicotine versus Thiocyanate on Pituitary-Testicular Axis of Juvenile Albino Rats: A Comparative Histological and Electron Microscopic Study

“…Cells appeared disorganized and dissociated from each other and exhibited pyknotic nuclei and densely stained cytoplasm. These findings are in agreement with a previous study which reported that male Wistar rats treated with varied doses of nicotine for 30 days also showed a reduction in germ cells and spermatids of their seminiferous tubules [17]. On the other hand, some temporary effects on testes histopathology of rats aged 7 weeks when exposed to nicotine were also reported [24].…”

“…Rats were chosen as the experimental animal in this research for their well-defined reproductive systems and the fact that compounds which could cause infertility in human males were also found to be active in rats [17]. Five to six developmental time periods, indicated in post natal days (PNDs), are recognized in the male rat and were referenced when characterizing microscopic changes.…”

“…Five to six developmental time periods, indicated in post natal days (PNDs), are recognized in the male rat and were referenced when characterizing microscopic changes. These stages include the neonatal (PND 0-7), infantile (PND [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], juvenile (PND 21-32), peri-pubertal (PND 33-55), and late pubertal (PND 56-70) periods [18,19]. These periods loosely correlate with similar developmental stages in humans [20,21].…”

Effects of pre‐freezeNigella sativaoil supplementation on cryosurvival of ovine spermatozoa

“…TQ has demonstrated some protective roles in relation to oxidative status, such as superoxide anion scavenger, direct cytoprotective effects and indirect antioxidant and androgen activities (Hala, ). Moreover, TQ can affect oxidative phosphorylation enzymes and protect cells against free radicals (Cho Ping, Hashim, & Hasan‐Adli, ).…”

The use of medicinal herbs in gynecological and pregnancy-related disorders by Jordanian women: a review of folkloric practice vs. evidence-based pharmacology

“…Despite reports of its antifertility and antiandrogenic capacities in male rabbits, rats and mice (Kamal et al 1993;Kassem et al 2006;Al-Janabi 2011), fenugreek exerted reversal of lindane-associated reactive oxygen species (ROS)-damage in male rat's reproductive and accessory organs with restoration of fertility, testosterone levels and amelioration of functionality (Seshadri et al 2011). On the other hand, N. sativa oil is promoted as a male fertility agent (Ghazeeri et al 2012) and could ameliorate and reverse the nicotine-induced reduction in sperm motility and morphology and affected testicular histology (Cho Ping et al 2014). It was also found to improve hyperlipidemic male rat fertility and spermatogenesis (Bashandy 2007;Al-Saaidi et al 2009;Mohammad et al 2009;Parandin et al 2012;Mansour et al 2013;Marbat et al 2013).…”