Protective effects of Urtica dioica L. on experimental testicular ischaemia reperfusion injury in rats.

In this study, it was aimed to examine the effects of Urtica dioica L. (UD) that has antioxidant feature in the experimental testicular I/R model in rats in terms of anti-apoptotic and antioxidative effects. In our study, 24 male rats were divided into three groups: control group, I/R group and I/R + UD (2 mg kg-1 ) group. Seminiferous tubule calibre measurement, Johnson score, haematoxylin-eosin staining, proliferative cell nucleus antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemical staining and TUNEL as histopathological have been conducted. The structural deterioration in the testicular on I/R group has reduced after the treatment of UD. Our data indicate a significant reduction in the activity of in situ identification of apoptosis using terminal dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL), and there was a rise in the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in testis tissues of UD-treated rats in the I/R group. The I/R + UD group showed a decrease in malondialdehyde levels and an increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in comparison with the I/R group. It could be concluded that protective effects of UD on the I/R testicles are via reduction of histological damage, apoptosis, oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.

The effects of quercetin on liver regeneration after liver resection in rats.

The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of quercetine (QE) on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats. A total of 24 male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: sham-operated (SH), PH and PH+QE; each group contain 8 animals. The rats in QE-treated groups were given QE (15 mg/kg body weight) once a day i.p., for 7 days starting 3 days prior to hepatectomy operation. At 7 days after resection, liver samples were collected. The malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH) levels were estimated in liver homogenates. Moreover, histopathological examination, mitotic index (MI), proliferating cell nuclear antigen labelling, proliferation index (PI), transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling assay, apoptotic index (AI) were evaluated at 7 days after hepatectomy. As a result, QE significantly increased MI, PI, and significantly decreased AI in PH rats. Additionally, QE remarkably inhibited the elevation of MDA, restored impaired antioxidant SOD activity and GSH level, and also attenuated hepatic vacuolar degeneration and sinusoidal congestion. These results suggested that QE treatment had a beneficial effect on liver regenerative capacity of the remnant liver tissue after hepatectomy, probably due to its antioxidative, antiapoptotic and proliferative property.

Protective effects of thymoquinone on experimental testicular ischaemia-reperfusion injury: an apoptotic, proliferative and biochemical study.

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of thymoquinone (TQ), which has antioxidant properties in the experimental testicular I/R model in rats in terms of its anti-apoptotic, proliferative and biochemical attributes. In our study, 24 male rats were divided into three groups: control group, I/R group and I/R+TQ group. Testicular torsion was created by rotating the left testis 720° in a clockwise direction. The ischaemia period was 4 h, and an orchiectomy was performed after 4 h of detorsion. Spermatogenesis and the mean seminiferous tubule diameter were significantly decreased in the I/R groups compared to the control group. Furthermore, TQ-treated animals displayed an improved histological appearance in the I/R group. It was also observed that treatment with TQ increased the activity of PCNA, which decreased as a result of I/R, and this treatment also reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells. The I/R+TQ group showed a decrease in malondialdehyde levels and an increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in comparison with the I/R group. It could be concluded that cytoprotective effects of TQ on the I/R testicles are via reduction of apoptosis, oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.

Protective effects of fish omega-3 fatty acids on doxorubicin-induced testicular apoptosis and oxidative damage in rats.

The aim of this study was to examine the protective effects of fish omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids on acute doxorubicin (DOX)-induced testicular apoptosis and oxidative damage. 24 male rats were divided into three groups: control, DOX-treated and DOX+fish n-3 fatty acids. Fish n-3 fatty acids (400 mg kg(-1) ) were given for 30 days by intragastric gavage. The rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of DOX (30 mg kg(-1) ) and were sacrificed after 48 h. The DOX+fish n-3 fatty acids group showed a decrease in malondialdehyde levels and increased activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in comparison with the DOX-treated group. Acute DOX treatment caused severe damage such as disorganisation and separation of germ cells. The fish n-3 fatty acids-pretreated rats showed an improved histological appearance in the DOX-treated group. Our data indicate a reduction in the activity of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labelling; there was a rise in the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in testis tissues of the DOX+fish n-3 fatty acids group compared with DOX-treated group. These data suggested that fish n-3 fatty acids pre-treatment may be beneficial for spermatogenesis following acute DOX-induced testicular damage by decreasing germ cell apoptosis and oxidative stress.