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. 2016 Jul-Sep;10(2):245-52.
doi: 10.22074/ijfs.2016.4916. Epub 2016 Jun 1.

Curcumin Inhibits The Adverse Effects of Sodium Arsenite in Mouse Epididymal Sperm

Hamid Reza Momeni  1 , Najmeh Eskandari  1
Affiliations

Curcumin Inhibits The Adverse Effects of Sodium Arsenite in Mouse Epididymal Sperm

Hamid Reza Momeni et al. Int J Fertil Steril. 2016 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin on epididy- mal sperm parameters in adult male Navel Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice ex- posed to sodium arsenite.

Materials and methods: In this experimental study, we divided the animals into four groups: control, sodium arsenite (5 mg/kg), curcumin (100 mg/kg) and curcumin+sodium arsenite. Exposures were performed by intraperitoneal injections for a 5-week period. After the exposure period, we recorded the animals' body and left testes weights. The left caudal epididymis was used to count the sperm number and analyze motility, viability, morphological abnormalities, acrosome reaction, DNA integrity, and histone-protamine replacement in the spermatozoa. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey's test was used to assess the statistical significance of the data with SPSS 16.0. P<0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Mice exposed to sodium arsenite showed a significant decrease in the num- ber, motility, viability, normal sperm morphology and acrosome integrity of spermato- zoa compared to the control group. In the curcumin+sodium arsenite group, curcumin significantly reversed these adverse effects to the point where they approximated the control. In addition, the application of curcumin alone had no significant difference in these parameters compared to the control and curcumin+sodium arsenite groups. However, we observed no significant differences in the body and the testis weight as well as the DNA integrity and histone-protamine replacement in the spermatozoa of the four groups.

Conclusion: Curcumin compensated for the toxic effects of sodium arsenite on a number of sperm parameters in adult mice.

Keywords: Curcumin; Natural Antioxidant; Sodium Arsenite.

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Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Sperm morphological abnormalities in sodium arsenite-exposed mice. A. Club-shaped head, B. Amorphous head, C. Bent head and D. Lack of the usual hook. Diff Quick staining (magnification: ×1000).
Fig.2
Fig.2
DNA integrity [acridine orange (AO) staining] and histone-protamine replacement [aniline blue (AB) staining] in mouse epididymal spermatozoa. AO staining: A. Control, B. Sodium arsenite (5 mg/kg), C. Positive control. AB staining: D. Control, E. Sodium arsenite (5 mg/ kg) and F. Positive control (magnification: ×1000).
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