Comparative Analysis of the Protective Potentials of Nigella sativa and Lepidium meyenii on Alcohol-induced Testicular Toxicity in Adolescent Wistar Rats

Alcohol, a psychoactive drug, is soluble in both water and lipids, due to which it can diffuse to all tissues and affect the normal functioning of the body. Gonadal toxicity is reported as one of the side effects of its long-term consumption. This study examined the possible comparable protective potentials of Lepidium meyenii (LM) and Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on the biological integrities of the testes after exposure to excessive alcohol. Thirty-six adolescent Wistar rats (60– 150 g) were randomly divided into six groups and treated orally for 56 consecutive days. Group treatments included normal saline for the control group, 40% alcohol, LM, NSO, LM+alcohol, and NSO+alcohol. On the 57th day, samples were collected to assess reproductive hormones, sperm analysis, testicular histology and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. The results revealed that excessive alcohol consumption affected the structural integrities of the testes by depleting the mature sperm cell population and actively dividing PCNA immune-reactive cells. The treatment with Lepidium meyenii does not show any significant protective effects on alcohol-induced structural distortion of rats’ testes. However, NSO promises to be effective in protecting against alcohol-induced changes.

Key Words: testes, alcohol, germinal epithelium, Lepidium meyenni, Nigella sativa