Protective Effects of Equisetum Arvense MethanolicExtract on Epididymal S tructure in Diabetic Male Mice

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a major metabolic disorderthat has adverse effects on male reproductive sys tem. This diseasediseasedamages the epididymal tissue and leads to male infertility.Recently, herbs have been a popular source of medicine for preventionof diabetes. Thus, the current s tudy aimed to evaluatethe protective effects of Equisetum arvense methanolic extract(EE) on diabetes-induced detrimental effects on his tologicals tructure of epididymis and cauda epidydimal sperm.Materials and Methods: Twenty four mature male mice weredivided equally in four groups: control-sham, diabetic (inducedby s treptozotocin, ۵۰ mg/kg for five days), diabetic+EE (۲۵۰mg/kg, orally, daily gavage) and diabetic+EE (۵۰۰ mg/kg, orally,daily gavage). After ۴۵ days, the animals were euthanized.Then, cauda epididymis was analyzed for his topathological alteration.Also, epididymal sperm were collected to evaluate thesperm characteris tics.Results: Epithelium thickness and diameter of the caudaepididymal tubule and lumen were decreased remarkably(P<۰.۰۵) in the diabetic group compared with the control-shamgroup, whereas the EE-treatment decreased significantly(P<۰.۰۵) the adverse effects of diabetes. The percentage ofsperm with abnormal morphology was significantly (P<۰.۰۵)lower in treated groups than in the diabetic group. Although thesperm count was decreased in diabetic group, it was not s tatisticallysignificant (P>۰.۰۵) with those in diabetic+EE. Spermmotility and viability were increased significantly (P<۰.۰۵) inthe treated groups compared with the diabetic group.Conclusion: The EE inhibited diabetes-induced damages onepididymal tissue and sperm quality, which may have been associatedwith hypoglycemic and antioxidative activities in thisplant.

کلیدواژه ها:

Diabetes ، Equisetum Arvense ، Epididymis ، Sperm