Pachypodol attenuates Perfluorooctane sulphonate-induced testicular damage by reducing oxidative stress
Muhammad Umar Ijaza, Ayesha Raufa, Shama Mustafaa, Hussain Ahmedb, Asma Ashrafc✉, Khalid A. Al‐Ghanimd, Satyanarayana Swamy Mruthintie, Shahid Mahboobd✉
- aDepartment of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- bDepartment of Zoology, The University of Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Papers open inside SciRah from the original publisher or repository; SciRah never hosts them.
Abstract
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an endocrine disruptor chemical (EDC) with potentially adverse effects on the male reproductive system. Pachypodol (5,4'-dihydroxy-3,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone) is a promising flavonoid isolated from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth that shows a broad range of pharmacological properties. However, the potential curative effects of pachypodol on testicular toxicity are not available until now. Therefore, this research was proposed to examine the efficiency of pachypodol against PFOS-induced testicular toxicity in adult male rats. The experiments were conducted on Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48), which were equally distributed into four groups: control, PFOS (20 mg/kg), PFOS + Pachypodol (20 mg/kg + 10 mg/kg respectively), and Pachypodol (10 mg/kg). After 56 days of treatment, testes were excised by slaughtering rats, weighed, and stored till further analysis. The estimated parameters include biochemical markers, spermatogenic indices, hormonal and histopathological profiles. PFOS exposure disturbed the biochemical profile by altering the antioxidant/oxidant balance. For instance, it decreased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GSR) while increasing the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). PFOS intoxication also led to a notable decline in viability, motility, epididymal sperm count, and the number of HOS coiled-tail sperms, whereas the higher level of abnormality in the head, mid-piece, and tail of sperms were observed. Besides, it lowered luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and plasma testosterone. In addition, PFOS exposure led to histopathological damages in testicles. However, pachypodol treatment potently alleviated all the illustrated impairments in testes. Conclusively, our results demonstrate the promising free-radical scavenging activity of pachypodol, a novel phytochemical, against the PFOS-instigated testicular dysfunctions.
TL;DRResults demonstrate the promising free-radical scavenging activity of pachypodol, a novel phytochemical, against the PFOS-instigated testicular dysfunctions. (Semantic Scholar)