Improvement of Qilin pills on male reproductive function in tripterygium glycoside-induced oligoasthenospermia in rats.

This study established an oligoasthenospermic rat model using tripterygium glycosides (TGs) and investigated the mechanism by which Qilin pills (QLPs) ameliorate reproductive hypofunction. Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were allocated to four equal-sized groups: (1) the control group received continuous physiological levels of saline; (2) the oligoasthenospermia model group was induced with TGs by daily intragastric administration for 28 days; (3 and 4) oligoasthenospermic rats were treated intragastrically with low dose (1.62 g kg-1  d-1 ) and high dose (3.24 g kg-1  d-1 ) of QLPs once daily for 60 days. The QLP-treated rats showed a marked increase (p < .05) in testicular mass, testicular index and semen parameters compared with the untreated rats. Histopathologically, the QLP-treated groups exhibited restored seminiferous tubules in contrast to the model group. Reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels were dramatically decreased (p < .05) in the testes of the QLP-treated rats. QLP treatment partly reverted (p < .05) the circulatory levels of reproductive hormones (FSH, LH, testosterone, prolactin and SHBG) and hepatic and renal function (AST, Cr and urea). Our results showed that oral QLP treatment had a curative effect on the testicular mass, sperm quality, testicular pathomorphology, antioxidants, plasmatic hormones, and liver and renal function of rats.

Effects of Qilin pills on spermatogenesis, reproductive hormones, oxidative stress, and the TSSK2 gene in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia.

BACKGROUND: Qilin pills (QLPs), a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula for treating male infertility, effectively improve semen quality in clinical trials. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of QLPs on spermatogenesis, reproductive hormones, oxidative stress, and the testis-specific serinekinase-2 (TSSK2) gene in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia. METHODS: Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups. The rat model with oligoasthenospermia was generated by intragastric administration of tripterygium glycosides (TGs) once daily for 4 weeks. Then, two treatment groups were given different doses (1.62 g/kg and 3.24 g/kg) of QLPs once daily for 60 days. Sperm parameters, testicular histology and reproductive hormone measurements, oxidative stress tests, and TSSK2 expression tests were carried out. RESULTS: QLPs effectively improved semen parameters and testicular histology; restored the levels of FSH, LH, PRL, fT, and SHBG; reduced the levels of oxidative stress products (ROS and MDA); increased testicular SOD activity; and restored the expression of spermatogenesis-related gene TSSK2. CONCLUSION: QLPs have a therapeutic effect on a rat model of oligoasthenospermia, and this effect is manifested as improvement of semen quality and testis histology, gonadal axis stability, decreased oxidative stress, and the regulation of testis-specific spermatogenesis-related gene TSSK2.

Qilin pills alleviate oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting Bax-caspase-9 apoptosis pathway in the testes of model rats.

At present, the treatment of oligoasthenospermia with western medicine is ineffective. Qilin pill (QLP) is a Chinese traditional medicine for treating male infertility. Recent multicenter clinical studies in China reported that QLPs markedly improved sperm quality. However, the mechanism of action of QLPs on oligoasthenospermia remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanistic basis for improvement of semen parameters and reversal of testis damage by QLPs in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia induced by treatment with tripterygium glycosides (TGs) (40 mg/kg) once daily for 4 weeks. Rats were administered QLPs (1.62 g/kg or 3.24 g/kg) each day for 60 days, with untreated animals serving as controls. The concentration and motility of sperm extracted from rat epididymis were determined, whereas histopathological examination and immunohistochemical apoptosis analysis of rat testes was performed. Expression profiles of apoptosis-related genes were determined by microarray analysis; the results were validated by quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Sperm concentration and motility in the QLP treatment group were increased relative to those in control rats. Testis tissue and DNA damage were reversed by QLP treatment. The improvement function of QLPs on sperm and testis works mainly by suppressing mitochondrial apoptosis in the testis via modulation of B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), cytochrome C, caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression. QLPs could improve sperm quality and testis damage in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting the Bax-Caspase-9 apoptosis pathway and exerting therapeutic effects.

[Protective effect of Qilin Pills on the reproductive function of oligoasthenospermia rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effect of Qilin Pills (QLP) on the reproductive function of rats with oligoasthenospermia (OAS) induced by tripterygium glycosides. METHODS: Twenty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control, an OAS model control, a low-dose QLP, and a high-dose QLP group of equal number. OAS models were made in the latter three groups by intragastrical administration of tripterygium glycosides at 40 mg per kg of the body weight per day, and meanwhile the animals in the low- and high-dose QLP groups were treated with QLP at 1.62 and 3.24 g per kg of the body weight per day, respectively, while those in the OAS model group with normal saline, all for 30 consecutive days. Then all the rats were executed for obtaining the testis weight, testis viscera index, epididymal sperm concentration and motility, reproductive hormone levels, and antioxidation indexes and observation of the histomorphological changes of the testis tissue by HE staining. RESULTS: After 30 days of intervention, the low- and high-dose QLP groups, as compared with the OAS model controls, showed significantly improved epididymal sperm concentration (ï¼»14.57 ± 3.95ï¼½ and ï¼»39.71 ± 11.31ï¼½ vs ï¼»4.71 ± 1.25ï¼½ ×106/ml, P <0.05) and motility (ï¼»3.71 ± 1.11ï¼½ and ï¼»4.29 ± 1.80ï¼½ vs ï¼»0.57 ± 0.53ï¼½%, P <0.05), increased levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (ï¼»94.83 ± 11.17ï¼½ and ï¼»88.05 ± 9.21ï¼½ vs ï¼»56.74 ± 8.29ï¼½ nmol/L, P <0.05) and free testosterone (FT) (ï¼»27.27 ± 3.63ï¼½ and ï¼»32.80 ± 2.51ï¼½ vs ï¼»22.81 ± 2.75ï¼½ nmol/L, P <0.05), decreased level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (ï¼»1.49 ± 0.62ï¼½ and ï¼»1.12 ± 0.83ï¼½ vs ï¼»1.71 ± 0.52ï¼½ mIU/ml, P <0.05), but no significant change in the total testosterone (TT) level. Meanwhile, the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was markedly elevated in the low- and high-dose QLP groups in comparison with the OAS model control group (ï¼»277.14 ± 15.84ï¼½ and ï¼»299.60 ± 20.83ï¼½ vs ï¼»250.04 ± 31.06ï¼½ U/ml, P <0.05) while that of reactive oxygen species (ROS) remarkably reduced (ï¼»397.61 ± 62.71ï¼½ and ï¼»376.84 ± 67.14ï¼½ vs ï¼»552.20 ± 58.07ï¼½ IU/ml, P <0.05). HE staining showed that QLP intervention significantly increased the layers and quantity of spermatogenic cells in the testicular seminiferous tubules of the OAS rats. CONCLUSIONS: QLP can effectively protect the reproductive system of oligoasthenospermia rats by raising sperm quality, elevating reproductive hormone levels, reducing oxidative stress injury, and improving histomorphology of the testis.

[ilin Pills for oligoasthenospermia: Advances in clinical studies].

Industrialization and environmental pollution are bringing more problems to human reproduction and increasing the prevalence of male infertility. Western medicine has shown its limitations in the management of male infertility, especially that of oligoasthenospermia. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), however, has long and rich experiences in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia, with a large variety of medicinal prescriptions based on the TCM theories, among which Qilin Pills shows a particularly significant therapeutic effect on oligoasthenospermia, especially when combined with Western medicine. At present, published studies on Qilin Pills are mainly in the stage of clinical observation, while basic researches and studies on its relevant mechanisms are rarely seen.