Favourable effect of ?-glucan treatment against cisplatin-induced reproductive system damage in male rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential beneficial effects of ?-glucan treatment against oxidative, histological and spermatological damage caused by cisplatin on the male reproductive system. Twenty-eight Sprague Dawley male rats were used in the study. The rats were randomly divided into four equal-sized groups: a control group, cisplatin group (7 mg/kg in a single-dose cisplatin administered intraperitoneally), ?-glucan group (?-glucan given at a dose of 50 mg kg?1 d?1 for 14 day) and a cisplatin plus ?-glucan group (cisplatin and ?-glucan administered together at the same dose). Cisplatin administration induced an increase in the level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, a lipid peroxidation indicator. It induced a decrease in enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) activities and nonenzymatic (reduced glutathione) antioxidant levels. In addition, cisplatin caused both histological and spermatological damage, as shown by a decrease in sperm motility and epididymal sperm concentrations and an increase in abnormal sperm rates. The ?-glucan treatment improved cisplatin-induced oxidative, histological and spermatological damage. This study revealed that ?-glucan treatment provided prevention against male reproductive system damage caused by cisplatin. These preventative effects were likely due to its antioxidant properties. © 2019 Blackwell Verlag GmbH