Protective effects of compound flavones against alcohol-induced testicular injury in mice / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To study the protective effect of the compound flavones on chronic alcohol induced testicu-lar damage in mice. Methods One hundred SPF C57 BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 5 groupsnormal control group, chronic alcohol group, alcohol+low-dose drug group, alcohol+high dose drug group, and drug control group. Chronic alcohol testicular inju-ry model in mice was established by intragastric admin-istration of increasing dose of alcohol every four weeks for 6 months, meanwhile compound flavone interven-tion was in process. The activity of super oxide dis-mutase( SOD) , the levels of malondialdehyde( MDA) and testosterone in testicular tissue were measured. HE staining was used to observe testicular histomorpholo-gy, and ultrastructure changes were detected by elec-tron microscope. Results In chronic alcohol group, MDA content was obviously increased, while SOD and testosterone levels were decreased compared with nor-mal control group ( P <0. 05 ) . In addition, germinal epithelium, support cells and sperm production at all levels showed degraded degeneration in chronic alcohol group. However, compound flavonoids could success-fully reverse alcohol-induced testicular damage in a dose-dependent way. Conclusion The compound of flavones may have therapeutic potential for alcohol-in-duced testicular injury through inhibiting lipid peroxi-dation and increasing the level of testosterone.