Higher testicular temperature results in altered spermatogenesis due to heat-related oxidative stress. We examined the effects of decursin extracted from Angelica gigas Nakai on antioxidant activity in vitro and in a cryptorchidism-induced infertility rat model.
TM3 Leydig cell viability was measured based on oxidative stress according to treatment. Either distilled water or AG 400 mg/kg of A. gigas extract was administered orally for 4 weeks after unilateral cryptorchidism was induced. After 1, 2, and 4 weeks, six rats from the control group and six rats from treatment group were sacrificed. Testicular weight, semen quality, antioxidant activities, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) protein, and mRNA expression of Nrf2-regulated genes were analyzed. Treatment with A. gigas extract (1) protected TM3 cells against oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner, (2) improved the mean weight of the cryptorchid testis, (3) maintained sperm counts, motility, and spermatogenic cell density, (4) decreased levels of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and increased levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), (5) significantly increased Nrf2 and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and (6) significantly decreased apoptosis. This study suggests that decursin extracted from A. gigas is a supplemental agent that can reduce oxidative stress by Nrf2-mediated upregulation of HO-1 in rat experimentally induced unilateral cryptorchidism and may improve cryptorchidism-induced infertility.
Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. 2016 Feb 16 [Epub]
Woong Jin Bae, U Syn Ha, Jin Bong Choi, Kang Sup Kim, Su Jin Kim, Hyuk Jin Cho, Sung Hoo Hong, Ji Youl Lee, Zhiping Wang, Sung Yeoun Hwang, Sae Woong Kim
Catholic Integrative Medicine Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea., Department of Urology, Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China., Korea Bio Medical Science Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea., Catholic Integrative Medicine Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-daero 222, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea.