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. 2017 Sep 2;24(1):66.
doi: 10.1186/s12929-017-0373-5.

Beneficial effects of curcumin nano-emulsion on spermatogenesis and reproductive performance in male rats under protein deficient diet model: enhancement of sperm motility, conservancy of testicular tissue integrity, cell energy and seminal plasma amino acids content

Omar A H Ahmed-Farid  1 , Maha Nasr  2 , Rania F Ahmed  3 , Rofanda M Bakeer  4
Affiliations

Beneficial effects of curcumin nano-emulsion on spermatogenesis and reproductive performance in male rats under protein deficient diet model: enhancement of sperm motility, conservancy of testicular tissue integrity, cell energy and seminal plasma amino acids content

Omar A H Ahmed-Farid et al. J Biomed Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition resulting from protein and calorie deficiency continues to be a major concern worldwide especially in developing countries. Specific deficiencies in the protein intake can adversely influence reproductive performance. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of curcumin and curcumin nano-emulsion on protein deficient diet (PDD)-induced testicular atrophy, troubled spermatogenesis and decreased reproductive performance in male rats.

Methods: Juvenile rats were fed the protein deficient diet (PDD) for 75 days. Starting from day 60 the rats were divided into 4 groups and given the corresponding treatments for the last 15 days orally and daily as follows: 1st group; curcumin group (C) received 50 mg/kg curcumin p.o. 2ndgroup; curcumin nano-form low dose group (NCL) received 2.5 mg/kg nano-curcumin. 3rd group; curcumin nano-form high dose group (NCH) received 5 mg/kg nano-curcumin. 4th group served as malnutrition group (PDD group) receiving the protein deficient diet daily for 75 days and received distilled water ingestions (5 ml/kg p.o) daily for the last 15 days of the experiment. A normal control group was kept under the same conditions for the whole experiment and received normal diet according to nutrition requirement center daily for 75 days and received distilled water ingestions (5 ml/kg p.o) daily for the last 15 days of the experiment.

Results: PDD induced significant (P < 0.05) reduction in serum testosterone level, sperm motility, testicular GSH, CAT, SOD, testicular cell energy (ATP, ADP and AMP), essential and non-essential amino acids in seminal plasma, an increase in testicular MDA, NOx, GSSG and 8-OHDG. Data was confirmed by histological examination and revealed pathological alteration in the PDD group. Ingestion of curcumin (50 mg/kg) and curcumin nano-emulsion (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) showed significant (P< 0.05) amelioration effects against PDD-induced disrupted reproductive performance as well as biochemical and pathological alterations and the overall results of the nano-emulsion (5 mg/kg) were comparable to curcumin (50 mg/kg).

Conclusions: The present study suggests that administration of curcumin nano-emulsion as a daily supplement would be beneficial in malnutrition- induced troubled male reproductive performance and spermatogenesis cases.

Keywords: Curcumin; Male fertility; Nano-curcumin; Protein deficient diet.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval

The protocol for the conducted animal experiments was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University which followed the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health (NIH publication no. 85–23, revised 1996).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a. Particle size distribution of the prepared curcumin nano-emulsion measured using the zetasizer device. b. Transmission electron micrograph of the prepared curcumin nano-emulsion
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of curcumin and curcumin nano-emulsion on serum free testosterone level of male rats under protein deficient diet model. *Significantly different from normal control, # significantly different from PDD group
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effects of curcumin and curcumin nano-emulsion on testes 8OHDG concentration of male rats under protein deficient diet model. *Significantly different from normal control, # significantly different from PDD group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Correlation graphs
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Histopathological examination
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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