摘要:
Background:Nicotine administration can generate severe oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.Royal jelly,with its antioxidant properties,acts as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species.This study describes the apitherapy effects of royal jelly on testicular damage following nicotine administration.Methods:Forty-eight male BALB/c mice were divided into 8 groups(n=6):saline,3 different doses of royal jelly(100,150,and 200 mg/kg body weight(BW)per day),nicotine(1.5 mg/kg),and 3 different groups of Nic+Roy(1.5 mg/kg of Nic+100,150,and 200 mg/kg BW per day of royal jelly).Nicotine was administrated intraperitoneally,and royal jelly was prescribed orally for 10 consecutive days.Serum levels of hormones(testosterone,luteinizing hormone,and follicle-stimulating hormone),total antioxidant capacity,nitric oxide(NO)status,malondialdehyde levels,sperm DNA fragmentation,sperm parameters,histopathological changes(H&E staining),immunohistochemistry against apoptotic proteins,and gene expression of Bcl-2,p53,Caspase-3,and Nrf2(real-time PCR)were assessed to evaluate the molecular and histological changes.Results:Hormone levels,sperm parameters,and status of antioxidants were decreased significantly(p<.05)following nicotine administration.Moreover,royal jelly treatment normalized hormonal and antioxidant characteristics,decreased apoptotic gene expression,increased Nfr2 gene expression,and restored histopathological alteration to the physiological status significantly(p<.05).Conclusion:Royal jelly upregulates the antioxidant status,inhibits the mitochondrialdependent apoptosis pathway,and increases the rate of proliferation.This therapeutic agent effectively protected the testis against nicotine-associated damages by antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects.