Protective effects of ellagic acid on torsion/detorsion damage of testis.

Aim

The current study aimed to assess the protective effects of ellagic acid on ischemia-reperfusion injury in testicular tissue caused by experimental torsion/detorsion of spermatic cord.

Methods

Twenty-one mature male Sprague Dawley rats were grouped as follows: 1) sham group; 2) torsion/detorsion (T/D) group which experienced 2 h of ischemia (by 720° rotation of left testis) followed by 24 h of reperfusion period; and 3) ellagic acid (EA)-treated group which received EA (200 mg/kg, IP) about 30 min before ischemia period finalization. At the end of reperfusion period, tails of epididymides were harvested for sperm analysis, and testes tissues were examined in terms of histopathology, gene expression, and oxidative stress biomarkers.

Results

Testicular I/R injury caused a significant decrease in the sperm count and viability, and a significant increase in sperm abnormality compared to the sham group (P < 0.05), and treatment with EA reverted significantly the count and abnormality rate (P < 0.05). Histopathologically, T/D was associated with significant decrease in germinal epithelial cell thickness, mean seminiferous tubular diameter, and mean testicular biopsy score compared to the sham group (P < 0.05), and EA treatment could improve all these parameters significantly compared to the T/D group (P < 0.05).Also, oxidative stress index (OSI) was increased in the T/D group significantly (P < 0.05), and EA treatment reverted the OSI significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, I/R injury was associated with significant increment in Bax and decrease in Bcl2 (P < 0.05), and EA could improve the both significantly (P < 0.05). EA treatment could significantly decrease the Bax/Bcl2 ratio in comparison to the T/D group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The results confirmed that ellagic acid can be a protective/prophylactic agent to ischemia-reperfusion injury caused by testicular torsion/detorsion damage.