• Evaluation of the effects of Galega officinalis extract on spermatogenesis and testicular structure in diabetic rats
  • Saber Ghaderpour,1,* Mehdi Gharekhani,2 Majid Shokoohi,3
    1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
    2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Tabriz, Iran
    3. Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran


  • Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the antioxidant potential of Galega officinalis extract on oxidative damage in testes and sperm parameters of diabetic rats.
  • Methods: In this investigation, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control, Diabetic control, Diabetic treatment with G. officinalis extract, and the healthy group that received G. officinalis extract. An installation of distilled water was conducted in the control and diabetic groups. Also, treatment groups obtained Galega extract (50 mg/kg body weight) for 8 weeks. After the treatment period, all of the subjects were anesthetized, their blood samples were assumed, the insulin and glucose serum levels were measured, then the testes and epididymis were extracted and sperm parameters and oxidative stress markers were evaluated.
  • Results: In diabetic rats that received G. officinalis extract, Johnson's score and diameter of the seminiferous tubule remarkably increased as well as glucose plasma levels decreased and insulin levels increased. Also, during diabetes, an increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and a decrease in the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity were observed in the testes. The administration of G. officinalis extract (50 mg/kg BW) rectified these parameters. Moreover, the sperm parameters were reduced in the diabetic group, while the use of G. officinalis remarkably improved the noted disorders in the treatment groups.
  • Conclusion: The outcomes of this research prove the antioxidant role of hydroalcoholic extract of G. officinalis in the improvement of the testicular oxidative damage caused by diabetes.
  • Keywords: Diabetes, Oxidative Stress, Galega officinalis, Testis, Sperm parameters