ABSTRACT
Background: Tissue protective effect of compounds with antioxidant properties has been demonstrated. The alkaloids found in barberry root are considered as antioxidants
Objective:According to barberry protective effects in different tissues, in this study, the protective effect of Berberis integerrima Bge. root [MEBIR] was evaluated against CCl4-induced testicular damages in Wistar rats
Materials and Methods:40 mature male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: 1: Normal control, 2: Sham: received CCl4 diluted in olive oil [50% v/v; 1ml/kg bw], intraperitoneally, twice a week for 4 weeks, 3 and 4: Sham rats treated with MEBIR [250 and 500 mg/kg bw] for 28 days, 5: Sham rats treated with silymarin [50 mg/kg bw] for 28 days. After 28 days, serum testosterone level, absolute testis weight, catalase activity, malondialdehyde level, and histological parameters were investigated
Results: In the treated rats with MEBIR [250 and 500 mg/kg bw] or silymarin [50 mg/kg bw], there was a significant increase in the absolute testis weight, testosterone level, seminiferous tubules diameter [p<0.001], thickness of the epithelium, tubule differentiation index [p<0.001], spermiogenesis index [p<0.001], the activity of catalase, and a significant decrease in interstitial tissue thickness [p<0.001] and malondialdehyde level in comparison with CCl4-treated group. The effect of the MEBIR at dose of 500 mg/kg bw is more than that of the standard drug, silymarin [50 mg/kg bw]
Conclusion:From the results, it is suggested that the protective effects of MEBIR is possibly due to antioxidant effects of its bioactive compounds
ABSTRACT
Use of medicinal plants in treating diabetes is of particular clinical importance. This study was carried out with the aim of assessing the effect of aqueous extract of berberis integerrima on testosterone level and changes of testicular tissue in diabetic rats. In this study, 40 male rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: 1- Control group [N], 2- Normal +barberry [N+B], group 3- Diabetic group [D] received Stereptozotocine [65 mg/kg bw, i.p.], 4- Diabetic+barberry group, 5- Diabetic+glibenclamide [0.6 mg/kg bw] group. The treatment groups daily received Barberry root extract [500 mg/kg bw] or glibenclamide intra gastric by gavage for 6 weeks, and the experimental period for each rat were 6 weeks. After finishing the treatment period, the animals were anesthetized and their testes were removed and transferred to 10% formalin. After fixing the samples, tissue sectioning, and staining by H and E technique, histological studies were performed by an optical microscope. The one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] followed by Tukey's post-hoc test was used for analysis of the data. The Statistical significance level was considered p<0.05. In this study, diabetes caused a significant decrease in testosterone level, diameter of seminiferous tubules, spermiogenesis coefficient, thickness of the epithelium, significant increases in interstitial tissue thickness and blood glucose in diabetic group compared to other groups. Administration of barberry root extract in diabetic rats restored these changes towards normal level. The results of this study showed that aqueous extract of Berberis Integerrima root has a desirable effect on the testosterone level, blood glucose, and histological changes of testes during the course of diabetes