The Effects of Clove and Its Constituents on Reproductive System: a Comprehensive Review.

Clove with the scientific name of Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry is an evergreen tree in which its buds are used for medicinal purposes. Traditional medicine manuscripts as well as recent studies reported its effects on male and female reproductive systems. The aim of this study is to investigate the reported contradictory effects of clove and its phytochemicals on the reproductive system of both males and females. All types of in vitro, animal, and human studies of clove and its main constituents in the field of reproductive systems were collected via searching electronic databases including PubMed and Scopus from the onset till 2021. In this review, 76 articles were included, of which 25 were related to male reproduction, 32 were related to female reproduction, and 19 were related to reproductive malignancies. Analysis of the literature indicates the effects of clove and its constituents especially eugenol and ß-caryophyllene on the level of sex hormones, fertility, sperm abnormalities, endometriosis, menstrual cycle, as well as gynecological infections, and reproductive tumors. The main mechanism of clove has not been understood yet but it seems that different parameters affect its pharmacological activity including the type of extract, dose, and duration of administration as well as the primary cause of the disorder. According to the effects of clove on different parts of the reproductive system, it seems that it can be a suitable candidate for related disorders, provided that more and more detailed studies are done on it.

Resveratrol supplementation improves DNA integrity and sperm parameters in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced type 2 diabetic rats.

Reproductive dysfunction is one of the diabetes complications. Resveratrol, a polyphenol compound, shows antidiabetic and antioxidant effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of resveratrol on sperm parameters and chromatin quality in experimentally induced type 2 diabetes by streptozotocin and nicotinamide. Forty male adult Wistar rats were grouped into normal control, diabetic control and resveratrol-treated diabetic groups (1, 5 and 10 mg/kg orally treated for 30 days). Type 2 diabetes was induced using a single dose of streptozotocin and nicotinamide by intraperitoneal injection. Then, the different parameters and chromatin condensation of the epididymal extracted spermatozoon were studied using aniline blue (AB), acridine orange (AO) and toluidine blue (TB) staining. The sperm parameters including count, motility and viability had significant reduction in diabetic rats (p < 0.05). Resveratrol increased count, motility and viable spermatozoa relative to the diabetic group (p < 0.05). The mean percentage of AB, AO and TB staining positive spermatozoa was increased in diabetic groups compared to control (p < 0.001) and decreased after treatment with 1 and 5 mg/kg resveratrol (p < 0.001). The results of AO and TB staining showed that resveratrol did not have any beneficial effect on chromatin condensation and denatured DNA at the dose of 10 mg/kg.