Olufunke O. Dosumu

Telfairia Occidentalis, a Prophylactic Medicine for Alcohol's Damaging Effect on the Testis

Telfairia Occidentalis, a Prophylactic Medicine for Alcohols Damaging Effect on the Testis Background: Concerns have been expressed about rising cases of male infertility. Studies have shown that alcohol impairs sexual performance and desire in men. It also affects sperm count lowering it and contributing to fertility problems. Aim: This study investigated the role of Telfairia occidentals in the protection of the testis against alcohol induced damage. Material and Methods: 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups of 6 each. They were administered distilled water, 30% v/v of ethanol at 2g/kg body weight, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg of Telfairia occidentalis, for 8 weeks after which their blood samples were collected for hormonal assay. The testis and cauda epididymis were also excised for histology and semen analysis. Results: Alcohol depleted the germinal epithelium of the testis but animals that received Telfairia occidentalis showed a better germinal epithelial lining and a significant increase in semen parameters and hormone levels. Conclusion:Telfairia occidentalis demonstrated a prophylactic effect on alcohol induced testicular damage and has improved semen quality. In addition, it also improved serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels.

Diabetes-induced prefrontal nissl substance deficit and the effects of neem-bitter leaf extract treatment

La disfuncion cognitiva es presuntamente asociada con un mal manejo de la diabetes mellitus. En este estudio, se presenta el efecto del tratamiento oral combinado con extracto de hoja (CLE) de hoja de neem amarga sobre la corteza prefrontal de ratas Wistar con diabetes. Las ratas Wistar adultas fueron asignadas al azar a uno de los siguientes grupos: control, diabetes (STZ inducida), STZ + CLE, STZ + metformina y CLE. Despues de la eutanasia, los cortes de parafina de la corteza prefrontal se tineron con violeta de cresil rapido, mientras que el malondialdehido (MDA) y la glutation peroxidasa (GPx) fueron analizadas en homogenizados prefrontales. El CLE produce normoglucemia en las ratas hiperglucemicas tratadas. Ademas, las secciones prefrontales tenidas para Nissl no muestran ningun deficit morfologico en todos los grupos excepto en las ratas diabeticas sin tratamiento. En este ultimo caso, hubo una tincion de Nissl debil, mientras que la MDA prefrontal fue significativamente mas alta en comparacion con los grupos de ratas control y las tratadas con CLE (p <0,05). Este estudio mostro que la diabetes mellitus no tratada se asocia con deficit prefrontal de cuerpos de Nissl y estres oxidativo en ratas Wistar. La ausencia de estos deficits en las ratas tratadas CLE, sugiere un efecto neuroprotector del extracto en ratas diabeticas inducidas por estreptozotocina. Esto puede mejorar la funcion cognitiva de la corteza prefrontal en la diabetes mellitus.

Histomorphometric studies of the effects of Telfairia occidentalis on alcohol-induced gonado-toxicity in male rats

Background Available evidence suggests that 50% of couples with infertility are male related. Over 40% of these males consume alcohol which has been reported to be a reproductive toxicant causing depletions in the epithelium of seminiferous tubules hence reducing sperm counts and sperm morphology. Objective To determine the effects of aqueous leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis on alcohol-induced cyto-architectural changes in the testis. Methods Aqueous leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis (T. occidentalis) was administered by gastric gavage at a dose of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight daily, while 2 g/kg body weight of ethanol at 30% v/v was administered daily to mature male Sprague–Dawley rats. The experiment was in 2 phases. Phase 1 had groups A1–F1 and lasted for 4 weeks while phase 2 had groups A2–F2 and lasted 8 weeks. Parameters tested include: testicular histology, relative volume density, sperm parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione. Results In both phases, there were depletions in the seminiferous epithelium, decreased sperm quality and increased MDA and SOD in animals that received alcohol only compared to control. Likewise, a significant increase of seminiferous epithelium of animals that received respective doses of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of T. occidentalis only compared to control. Animals that received T. occidentalis and alcohol simultaneously had a significant increase in seminiferous epithelium and sperm quality with decreased MDA level. Conclusion T. occidentalis attenuated the deleterious effects of alcohol to the cyto-architecture of the testis, protected the seminiferous epithelium, reduced oxidative stress and promoted spermatogenesis.

Atorvastatin attenuates testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats: role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and cyclo-oxygenase-2

Diabetes and obesity have been reported to alter sex steroid hormone metabolism. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the protective effect of atorvastatin (ATR) in combination with celecoxib (CEL) or pioglitazone (PIO) on testosterone‐induced BPH in rats. Male Wistar rats (200–250 g) were randomly divided into nine groups (n = 8) and orally treated as follows for 28 consecutive days: group 1: vehicle control (10 mL/kg); group 2: vehicle testosterone (10 mL/kg); groups 3 ‐ 5: ATR (0.5, 2.5, and 5 mg/kg, respectively); group 6: CEL (20 mg/kg); group 7: PIO (20 mg/kg); and groups 8–9: ATR 0.5 mg/kg, and 15 min later, animals were given CEL (20 mg/kg) or PIO (20 mg/kg), respectively. One hour post‐treatment, animals in groups 2–9 were given testosterone propionate (3 mg/kg, s.c.). Twenty‐four hours after last treatment on day 28, blood was collected for serum testosterone and prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) analysis. Prostate was harvested for biochemical and histological assays. Subcutaneous injection of testosterone increased serum levels of testosterone and PSA which was ameliorated by pretreatments of rat with ATR, celecoxib, or pioglitazone. Similarly, testosterone‐induced increase in MDA and reduction in the activity of GSH, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase were attenuated by ATR. Conversely, celecoxib or pioglitazone treatment failed to affect the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The histology of the prostate showed significant improvement in prostatic cells of ATR, celecoxib, or pioglitazone treated. Findings from the study showed that atorvastatin attenuated testosterone‐induced BPH. Moreover, synergistic effect was observed when atorvastatin was combined with celecoxib.

3 Intrasound Therapy Reverses The Effects Of Alcohol Consumption On The Healing Tendon And Augments Healing

Functional abnormalities in wound structure has been identified as a potential complication if a patient consumes alcohol prior to injury and studies suggest that even a single incidence of acute ethanol exposure can perturb the tissue response to trauma significantly. Ethanol ingestion has been shown to result in delayed and abnormal tendon healing 3 weeks after injury. This study investigated the effects of low intensity intrasound therapy (LITR) given twice daily on the morphology and antioxidant parameters in the healing tendon following an acute injury in rats exposed to prior ethanol consumption. Fifteen male rats, randomised into three groups all underwent induced crush injury to the Achilles tendon. Groups 2 and 3 had prior administration of 30% ethanol for six days. The three groups were allocated to: serve as controls (Group 1), received no treatment (Group 2), LITR twice daily (Group 3). LITR was commenced immediately post-injury and was given twice daily over the first 6 days. The animals were sacrificed on day 20 post-injury and the tendons were excised, and processed for histology and anti-oxidant and MDA assay. The tendons in group 2 showed disordered and haphazard collagen formation with neutrophilic infiltrates and high tenoblast population at 20 days post-injury while the LITR treated tendon had dense, well-ordered, parallel collagen deposits with fewer tenoblasts. LITR also significantly improved the antioxidant parameters and lowered the MDA compared with the alcohol-exposed untreated tendon (p < 0.05). LIRT thus reverses the deleterious effect of ethanol on the healing tendon and resulted in near-normal morphology of the healing tendon 20 days post-injury. Abstract 3 Figure 1 L/S of tendon of rat. A: control, B: alcohol fed with no treatment and C: alcohol fed and treated with LITR. (H&E) X200. A shows moderately aligned collagen fibres (C), B shows disorganized collagen fibres (C) with neutrophilic infiltrates (N) while C shows orderly and parallel collagen deposits (C) and elongated tenocytes (T) Abstract 3 Table 1 Correlation of antioxidants with MDA Spearman’s Correlation (r) Groups SOD Catalase GRP 1 -0.63 -0.63 GRP 2 0.37 0.37 GRP 3 -0.98 -0.97 Group 1: Control (Nil alcohol, nil treatment) Group 2: Alcohol, nil treatment Group 3: Alcohol, LITR twice daily Abstract 3 Table 2 Population of tendon cells Total number of cells (N)/Unit Area Groups TB TC Ratio of TB to TC p-value X ± SD X ± SD GRP 1 710 ± 353 334 ± 120 2 : 1 0.12 GRP 2 693 ± 206 210 ± 52 3 : 1 0.02* GRP 3 572 ± 385 445 ± 76 1: 1 0.59 TB: Tenoblasts; TC: Tenocytes Group 1: Control (Nil alcohol, nil treatment) Group 2: Alcohol, nil treatment Group 3: Alcohol, LITR twice daily * Significant at p < 0.05 References Aiyegbusi et al . Connective Tissue Research. 2012;53(6):478–484 Novasonic. www.novasonicwest.com/novasonic. 2007 Molina et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2002;26(1):120–8 Sommers MS. Crit Care Nurse. 1994;14:82–86, 88–93