Artemisia annua L. (Sweet wormwood) leaf extract attenuates high-fat diet-induced testicular dysfunctions and improves spermatogenesis in obese rats.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the effects of Artemisia annua leaf extract (AAE) on high-fat diet-induced testicular dysfunction in rats and compare it with Orlistat.
Results Summary
AAE significantly reduced oxidative stress, restored hormonal balance, and decreased apoptosis in obese rats, outperforming Orlistat, which showed more perturbations.
Population
Adult male rats with high-fat diet-induced obesity.
Effective Dosage
100 mg/kg body weight, administered for 8 weeks.
Duration
8 weeks.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
high-fat diet | increase | testicular dysfunction | rats | - | induced | #1 |
high-fat diet | increase | hormonal imbalance | obese group | - | showed | #2 |
high-fat diet | increase | oxidative stress biomarkers | obese group | - | showed | #3 |
high-fat diet | increase | apoptosis | obese group | - | showed | #4 |
Orlistat (50 mg/kg body weight) | increase | perturbations | obese rats | - | noticed | #5 |
crude leaf extract of Artemisia annua (AAE) (100 mg/kg body weight) | decrease | level of oxidative stress | obese rats | significantly reduced | showed | #6 |
crude leaf extract of Artemisia annua (AAE) (100 mg/kg body weight) | increase | hormonal balance | obese rats | restoration | showed | #7 |
crude leaf extract of Artemisia annua (AAE) (100 mg/kg body weight) | decrease | apoptosis | obese rats | reduced | showed | #8 |
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Artemisia annua L., known as "sweet wormwood," is widely used in Egyptian folk medicine. Egyptians implement the aerial parts in the treatment of respiratory, digestive and sexual dysfunctions. However, the mechanism by which Artemisia annua improves testicular function is still being discovered. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to evaluate the modulatory effects of the crude leaf extract of Artemisia annua (AAE) on a high-fat diet induced testicular dysfunction in rats and compare it with the antilipolytic drug Orlistat. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty adult rats were randomly classified and assigned to four groups. The first group typically consumed a balanced diet and served as a negative control (GP1). A high-fat diet-induced obesity was applied to the other three groups for 12 weeks. A positive control remained on HFD for another 8 weeks, which is GP2. Other groups were administered for 8 consecutive weeks either with Orlistat (50 mg/kg body weight) or AAE (100 mg/kg body weight), which have been defined as GP3 and GP4, respectively. Testosterone (TST), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were determined in the sera of all groups. In addition, the oxidant/antioxidant biomarkers such as protein carbonyl, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase isoenzyme-B (CK-MB) were determined. An immunohistochemical stain with the apoptotic marker caspase-3 and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were also investigated. RESULTS: In the testes of the obese group, the results showed hormonal imbalance, an increase in oxidative stress biomarkers and apoptosis. In the group treated with orlistat (GP3), noticeably more perturbations were noted. The obese rats that had been treated with AAE (GP4) showed a significantly reduced level of oxidative stress, hormonal balance restoration and reduced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: The crude leaf extract of A. annua is a potential herbal therapeutic for the treatment of obesity-related testicular dysfunction and the restoration of hormonal imbalance in obese rats.