TY - JOUR AU - Shiva Saleh AU - Aref Ghanaatpisheh AU - Hoda Haghshenas AU - Negar Parvin AU - Elmira Mikaeiliagah AU - Hossein Kargar Jahromi AU - Bahare Ebrahimi PY - 2023/05/06 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - The effect of leaf hydroalcoholic extract of Ephedra pachyclada infertility in male rats treated with cyclophosphamide: An experimental study JF - International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine (IJRM) JA - IJRM VL - 21 IS - 4 SE - Articles DO - 10.18502/ijrm.v21i4.13268 UR - https://knepublishing.com/index.php/ijrm/article/view/13268 AB - Background: Cyclophosphamide (CP) has clinical applications in treating diverse malignancies and autoimmune disorders; at the same time, it also has harmful effects on the body tissues, particularly the genitals. The most significant side effects of CP are changing the reproductive system’s function and infertility.Objective: This study determines the Ephedra hydroalcoholic extract (EP) role on testicular tissue and the pituitary-gonadal axis in CP-treated male rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 48 adult Wistar rats were separated into 6 groups (n = 8/each): control, sham, CP recipients, and CP recipients with gavage-fed EP (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg). On the 29th day, the blood of the weighed animals’ was drawn from their heart, and serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone were measured. After preparing testicular tissue segments, cells were counted. Results: While CP decreased follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone levels (p < 0.05), the use of EP changed them and even reached the control. Serum gonadotropin-releasing hormone increased significantly in all EP groups compared to the control and CP groups. Compared to the control, a significant decrease in Total antioxidant capacity and plasma glutathione peroxidase was observed in the CP groups. EP (all doses) significantly increased their concentration compared to the CP group (p < 0.05); significant reduction in serum total oxidant status and malondialdehyde in CP groups changed by EP (p < 0.05). Although CP’s role on spermatogonia counts (57.5 ± 5.2 in CP, 67.1 ± 6.0 in control), higher doses of EP had no significant effect on this but did affect spermatocyte and spermatid cells count.Conclusion: Due to its antioxidant characteristics, EP mitigated the effects of CP on the investigated parameters in rats.Key words: Ephedra, Cyclophosphamide, Cancer, Spermatogenesis, Sex hormones, ROS. ER -