Andrology-Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

The Effects of the Wild African Potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) Supplementation on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rats Reproductive Function

Audrey E Jordaan, Stefan S du Plessis and Y Guillaume Aboua

Sixty adult male Wistar rats (230-260 g) were randomly divided into 5 equal groups: normal, diabetic, diabetic +800 mg/kg H. hemerocallidea diabetes+200 mg/kg H. hemerocallidea and non-diabetic+800 mg/kg H. hemerocallidea. Diabetes was induced with a single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) and monitored during the study period. Blood glucose levels showed a significant increase (5.117 ± 0.2412 vs. 30.70 ± 1.2630; p<0.05) 3 days after diabetes was induced using STZ. No mortality was observed during the study period. Blood samples, testes and epididymis were collected on the day of sacrifice. Testicular and epididymal lipid peroxidation (LPO) also showed a significant increase when diabetic control was compared to normal control. Body weights (315.7 ± 9.348 (g) vs. 210.2 ± 6.256 (g); p<0.05), epididymis (1.005 ± 0.0415 (g) vs. 0.7557 ± 0.0279 (g); p<0.05) and testicular (2.995 ± 0.1179 (g) versus 2.140 ± 0.0911 (g); p<0.05) weights, sperm motility and morphology, superoxide dismutase, catalase, total glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, testosterone and estradiol levels (p<0.05) decreased in the diabetic Wistar rats. After 6 week administration of H.hemerocallidea there was a significant improvement in the above parameters in diabetic Wistar rats (p<0.05). In addition, the non-diabetic +800 mg/kg H.hemerocallidea group showed improvement in some sperm motility parameters, epididymal GSHt, testosterone and estradiol levels when compared to the normal control group (p<0.05).These results indicated that H.hemerocallidea supplementation is an effective approach to ameliorate male infertility in diabetic rats.