Royal-jelly-based apitherapy can attenuate damages to male reproductive parameter following nicotine administration

[摘要] Background Nicotine administration can generate severe oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Royal jelly, with its antioxidant properties, acts as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species. This study describes the apitherapy effects of royal jelly on testicular damage following nicotine administration. Methods Forty-eight male BALB/c mice were divided into 8 groups ( n  = 6): saline, 3 different doses of royal jelly (100, 150, and 200 mg/kg body weight (BW) per day), nicotine (1.5 mg/kg), and 3 different groups of Nic + Roy (1.5 mg/kg of Nic + 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg BW per day of royal jelly). Nicotine was administrated intraperitoneally, and royal jelly was prescribed orally for 10 consecutive days. Serum levels of hormones (testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone), total antioxidant capacity, nitric oxide (NO) status, malondialdehyde levels, sperm DNA fragmentation, sperm parameters, histopathological changes (H&E staining), immunohistochemistry against apoptotic proteins, and gene expression of Bcl - 2 , p53 , Caspase - 3 , and Nrf2 (real-time PCR) were assessed to evaluate the molecular and histological changes. Results Hormone levels, sperm parameters, and status of antioxidants were decreased significantly ( p  < .05) following nicotine administration. Moreover, royal jelly treatment normalized hormonal and antioxidant characteristics, decreased apoptotic gene expression, increased Nfr2  gene expression, and restored histopathological alteration to the physiological status significantly ( p  < .05). Conclusion Royal jelly upregulates the antioxidant status, inhibits the mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway, and increases the rate of proliferation. This therapeutic agent effectively protected the testis against nicotine-associated damages by antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects.

[学科分类] 机械工程学

[关键词] antioxidant;apitherapy;apoptosis;damage;male;nicotine;reproduction;royal jelly;testis