Comparative Analysis of the Protective Potentials of Nigella sativa and Lepidium meyenii on Alcohol-induced Testicular Toxicity in Adolescent Wistar Rats
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Date
2024
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
The Anatomical Society of Nigeria
Abstract
Alcohol, a psychoactive drug, is soluble in both water and lipids, due to which it can diffuse to all tissues and
affect the normal functioning of the body. Gonadal toxicity is reported as one of the side effects of its long-term
consumption. This study examined the possible comparable protective potentials of Lepidium meyenii (LM) and
Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on the biological integrities of the testes after exposure to excessive alcohol. Thirty-six
adolescent Wistar rats (60– 150 g) were randomly divided into six groups and treated orally for 56 consecutive
days. Group treatments included normal saline for the control group, 40% alcohol, LM, NSO, LM+alcohol, and
NSO+alcohol. On the 57th day, samples were collected to assess reproductive hormones, sperm analysis, testicular histology and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. The results revealed that excessive alcohol consumption affected the structural integrities of the testes by depleting the mature sperm cell population and actively dividing PCNA immune-reactive cells. The treatment with Lepidium meyenii does not show any
significant protective effects on alcohol-induced structural distortion of rats’ testes. However, NSO promises to be effective in protecting against alcohol-induced changes.
Description
Keywords
Testes, alcohol, germinal epithelium, Lepidium meyenii, Nigella sativa
Citation
Adana, M. Y., Towoju, A. M., Alade, O. E., Oluwasegun, B. O., Adewale, D. A., Onigbolabi, O. G., & Ajao, M. S. (2024). Comparative Analysis of the Protective Potentials of Nigella sativa and Lepidium meyenii on Alcohol-induced Testicular Toxicity in Adolescent Wistar Rats. The Journal of Anatomical Sciences, 15 (2), 177 –188. Published by the Anatomical Society of Nigeria. Available online at https://www.asn-ng.com/journal/issue/15/2