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Methotrexate (MTX) is an anticancer drug used in chemotherapy. MTX was known for its toxic effects involving most of the organs including testis. Bee pollen is healthy food for human and has antioxidant effect. We intended to determine protective effect of bee pollen against testicular injury caused by MTX in rats. Thirty-two adult Sprague Dawley male rats were used, and 4 groups were formed: control, MTX, pollen, and MTX + pollen. Rats were given pollen at a dose of 400 mg/kg with intragastric gavage for 10 days. On day 7, MTX was administered a single dose of 30 mg/kg ip. Serum testosterone and LH, tissue MDA level, and SOD and CAT enzyme activities were examined. In addition, spermatological parameters were evaluated. MDA level and SOD activity increased while testosterone level decreased significantly in the MTX group compared to the control group. In the MTX + pollen group, MDA level and SOD activity decreased while testosterone level increased. There was no significant change in CAT activity and LH values. Abnormal sperm ratio decreased in the MTX + pollen group compared to the MTX group. Our results suggest that bee pollen has a healing effect on reproductive parameters in testicular damage caused by MTX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical exercise and body muscle/fat mass are known to affect the endocrine system, puberty onset and reproductive health. However, the potential effects of irisin, an adipo-myokine and exercise-induced hormone, have not yet been fully elucidated on reproductive maturation. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effects of irisin administration on pubertal maturation and reproductive system in female and male rats. Daily i.p. injection of irisin (100 ng/kg; from postnatal day 21 for about 10 weeks) delayed the ages at the vaginal opening (as an external index of puberty onset) and first estrus. Furthermore, continuous administration of irisin to female rats caused a significant decrease in serum follicle-stimulating hormone levels and an increase in serum luteinizing hormone and 17β-estradiol levels, as well as causing histopathological changes in the ovarian tissue. On the contrary, irisin administration to male rats did not modify the timing of puberty, as estimated by age at preputial separation. However, chronic exposure to irisin produced significant increases in serum luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels and also sperm concentration and seminiferous tubule diameter in male rats. In conclusion, irisin exposure has different effects on both pubertal maturation and reproductive system in female and male rats. The present findings reveal that chronic irisin exposure may lead to disorders in the female reproductive system and may have androgenic potential on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looked at how spermatogenesis, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant defense mechanisms, and histological changes in testicular, hepatic, and renal tissues were affected by boric acid (H3BO3) added to mixed feed and drinking water at different concentrations for 14 weeks. For this purpose, 60 male Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica f. domestica) were used. From the age of 35 days, the birds were given boric acid added to regular soybean meal maize mixed feed as well as drinking water. Experimental groups: Control (no additive), F100: 100 mg/kg boric acid into feed, F300: 300 mg/kg boric acid into feed, W100: 100 mg/l boric acid into drinking water, and W300: 300 mg/l boric acid into drinking water. Both primordial (P < 0.001) and mature (P < 0.05) sperm counts increased in F300 and W300 groups. Supplemented boric acid in drinking water (300 mg/l) increased the tubule diameters of the testicle (P < 0.05). Because of the rising levels of boric acid in the feed and water groups, lipid peroxidation levels increased in testicular (P < 0.001), hepatic, and renal tissues (P < 0.01). Glutathione (GSH) levels rose in high boric acid groups in testicular and hepatic tissues (P < 0.001). Different tissues responded differentially to high amounts of boric acid in terms of antioxidant enzyme activity (P < 0.001). As a result, boric acid at high doses showed beneficial effects on spermatological activity; however, continued use caused lipid peroxidation in tissues and some pathological problems in liver tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]