Hydroxycitric acid and capsaicin combination alleviates obesity-induced testicular apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation

Abstract

Recent research in rodents suggests that oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in the testes caused by high-fat diets (HFD) are a cause of male infertility. To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of the combination of hydroxycitric acid and capsaicin (HCC) against male reproductive disorders, we developed an HFD-induced obese rat model. Rats received HFD supplementation for 21 weeks, which induced obesity. From week 16, HCC (100 mg/kg body weight) was administered to investigate its potential to treat testicular toxicity. According to the results of the current study, treatment of obese rats with HCC improved their sperm quality, increased the production of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone and significantly increased the activities of steroidogenic enzymes and corresponding mRNA levels. In addition, HCC decreased lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide levels in both spermatozoa and testes while increasing the expression of mRNA for the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the testes, which in turn reduced oxidative stress in the testes. Moreover, after HCC treatment, testicular tissues showed a remarkable decrease in mRNA levels responsible for inflammation (TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB) and apoptosis (Bax and Bcl-2). Our results suggest that HCC may alleviate obesity-induced male reproductive dysfunction by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in the testes of HFD-induced obese male rats.

Keywords:

• Infertility
• natural therapeutics
• nutraceuticals
• testicular toxicity
• obesity

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the management of K.S. Rangasamy College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Tiruchengode, Tamilnadu, India, for providing the necessary facilities to carry out this study. The authors would also like to convey their heartfelt thanks to the management of Nandha College of Pharmacy, Erode, Tamilnadu, India, for providing the animal house facility for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Research project design: VVSU. Experiments performance: VVSU, ES, BRA, SS, AR, BP, PC. Data obtain: VVSU, GS. Statistical analysis: PP, SV. Manuscript writing: VVSU. Supervision: VVSU. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.