Investigation of the effects of taxifolin on cisplatin-induced testicular toxicity in rats

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of taxifolin on cisplatin-induced testicular toxicity in rats. Twenty eight male Wistar Albino rats, 2 months old, weighing 250-300 g, were used in the study. The rats were randomly selected and four groups were created: sham (S) group, cisplatin (C) group, taxifolin (T) group and cisplatin+taxifoline (CT) group, with 7 rats in each group. On the first day of the study, a single intraperitoneal injection of 7 mg/kg cisplatin was administered to groups C and CT. Taxifolin (50 mg/kg) was given by oral gavage to T and CT groups for 7 days. On the eighth day of the study, all rats were sacrificed and testicular tissues were removed for analysis. Cisplatin caused significant histopathological changes in the testicular tissue, such as advanced deterioration of the seminiferous tubules, degeneration and desquamation in the seminiferous tubule epithelium, coagulation necrosis, and bleeding and edema in the intertubular area, as well as an increase in Cosentino scores and a decrease in Johnson scores. Cisplatin administration reduced membrane integrity, decreased sperm motility and density, and increased the rate of abnormal spermatozoon and dead spermatozoon. In the combined application of cisplatin and taxifoline, taxifoline significantly reduced the histopathological changes caused by cisplatin and rearranged the Cosentino and Johnson scores. It also increased membrane integrity and sperm motility and reduced the rate of abnormal spermatozoon. This study showed that cisplatin caused toxicity in testicular tissue and taxifolin could prevent cisplatin-induced testicular toxicity.

Keywords

• Cisplatin
• spermatozoa
• sperm quality
• testis
• taxifolin.

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