Protective Role of Nigella Sativa Oil on Spermatogenesis and Testicular Structure in Cadmium Intoxicated Rats

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Departments of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.

2 Departments of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a common environmental pollutant associated with many industrial processes. Considering the high sensitivity of the testicular tissue to Cd insult, prevention and/or therapeutic intervention is of major concern. Previous experimental evidences indicated the involvement of oxidative stress in Cd-mediated tissue damage. The present study investigated the protective role of Nigella Sativa Oil (NSO) against the toxic effect of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) on rat testes.Forty adult male albino rats weighing 240-280 g were assigned into four groups: Group I(Control rats), Group II (NSO-treated rats), Group III (CdCl2-treated rats) and Group IV(rats treated with CdCl2 and NSO). Cadmium chloride was injected in a dose of 2mg/kg bw dissolved in isotonic saline intraperitoneal, whileNSO was administered in a dose of 1 ml/kg bwby gastric gavage.The present study found that administration of CdCl2 induced marked structural derangement in the seminiferous tubules of the rats’ testes associated with significant drop of spermatogenesis score. Concomitant administration of NSO and CdCl2 was associated with markedreduction in the adverse structural changes seen in the testes of CdCl2-intoxicated ratsbesides preservation of spermatogenesis.

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