Tribulus terrestris Hydroalcoholic Extract Administration Effects on Reproductive Parameters and Serum Level of Glucose in Diabetic Male Rats

Abstract

GHANBARI, A.; MORADI, M.; RAOOFI, A.; FALAHI, M. & SEYDI, S.Tribulus terrestris hydroalcoholic extract administration effects on reproductive parameters and serum level of glucose in diabetic male rats. Int. J. Morphol.,34(2):796-803, 2016. SUMMARY:Usage of medicinal plants for the treatment of diseases is a remarkable strategy considered in both clinical and experimental studies. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Tribulus terrestris hydroalcoholic extract administration on the serum level of glucose and reproductive parameters in diabetic male rats. In this experimental study, 30 adult male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were divided into 5 groups (n= 6). Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin. Experimental groups received daily Intraperitoneal injection of the extract (100, 250 and 500 mg/kg) since one week after inducing diabetes for two weeks. At the end of the experiment, the serum levels of testosterone and glucose were examined by ELISA and Glucodr devices respectively. Sperm parameters including morphology, count and motility were evaluated from the cauda epididymis. The diameters of seminiferous tubules were assessed based on 5 µm paraffin section of H&E stained section of testes. The data were evaluated by One Way ANOVA followed by post-hoc test using SPSS software. In T. terrestris extract groups, there were significant reductions in the levels of blood glucose while increased sperm motility, sperm count and seminiferous tubules diameter, percentage of sperms with normal morphology, level of testosterone hormone and final body weight compared with diabetic group (p <0.001). In conclusion, T. terrestris hydroalcoholic extract decreases serum level of glucose and diminishes the side effects of diabetes on male reproductive system showing by increasing in the serum level of testosterone, improving sperm parameters and returning the seminiferous tubules to normal diameter by a dose dependent manner.

Phytochemical and Biological Evaluation of a Newly Designed Nutraceutical Self-Nanoemulsifying Self-Nanosuspension for Protection and Treatment of Cisplatin Induced Testicular Toxicity in Male Rats

“…Interestingly, treatment with the prepared NCF demonstrated significant efficiency for the reduction of testicular injury and disturbed spermatogenesis. These interpretations are in line with the growing evidence for TT, which found that the major steroidal frostanol saponin, protodioscin, encouraged spermatogenesis by stimulating the production of pituitary gonadotropins that triggered testosterone and improved sperm count by affecting Sertoli cells [ 41 ]. The presence of powerful antioxidant components like C-phycocyanin, phenolic contents, β-carotene, and vitamin C in SP were found to be mainly responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of Nf-ƙB, induction of Nrf2, maintaining the endogenous antioxidants and inhibiting the rise of testicular NO and TNF-α, thus decreasing oxidative stress and relieving the pathological changes leading to an improvement of testosterone level.…”

A Comprehensive Review of the Phytochemical, Pharmacological, and Toxicological Properties of Tribulus terrestris L.

“…In adult male Swiss albino mice with reproductive damage induced by cyclophosphamide, TT showed an improvement of epididymal sperm characteristics (motility) and an increase in testosterone levels as compared with the control group [65]. Extracts with TT administered to trained rats (fruit extract, China >70% saponins), diabetic rats (seed extract, Iran), healthy male rats (flowers, Iran) led to a significant increase in testosterone levels as compared with the control [66][67][68]. In healthy Wistar rats, a 70-day supplementation with TT extract influenced spermatogenesis, as shown by the changes in the tubular compartment of the testes (increase in the total tube length, tubular volume, and height of the seminiferous epithelium) [69].…”

“…Studies on diabetic rats and glucose-loaded rabbits have shown that TT extracts are also capable of reducing fasting blood glucose levels, which suggests that the active compounds have multiple mechanisms of action [98][99][100]. Although the majority of the preclinical research for TT extracts was conducted on diabetic rats in order to evaluate the effect on different complications caused by diabetes, mostly related to sexual disorders, all studies reported the antihyperglycemic effect of TT extracts [67,85,86]. Diosgenin was shown to promote insulin secretion and influence beta cell regeneration in STZ-induced diabetes in rats through PPARγ activation in adipose tissue and oxidative stress modulation [101,102].…”

Efficacy of Tribulus terrestris on diabetes and sexual disorders: A narrative review

“…While the majority of the preclinical research for T. terrestris extracts was conducted on diabetic rats in order to rate the different diabetes caused complications, many related to sexual disorders, all studies reported the antihyperglycemic effect of T. terrestris extracts. (Ghanbari et al, 2016;Tag et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2019). Diosgenin (Figure 2) has been shown to promote insulin secretion and induce beta cell regeneration in STZ-induced diabetes in rats through PPARγ activation in adipose tissue and oxidative stress adjustment (Kalailingam et al, 2014;Tharaheswari et al, 2014).…”