1. Effect of Long-term Administration of Cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris on Testicular Function in Middle-aged Rats.
- Author
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Sang-Hyun Sohn, Su-Chan Lee, Seock-Yeon Hwang, Sung-Won Kim, Il-Woung Kim, Michael Ye, and Si-Kwan Kim
- Subjects
TESTIS physiology ,ADENOSINES ,ANALYSIS of variance ,ANIMAL experimentation ,ENZYME-linked immunosorbent assay ,FUNGI ,MOLECULAR structure ,NUCLEAR magnetic resonance spectroscopy ,RATS ,RESEARCH funding ,SPERMATOZOA ,STATISTICS ,T-test (Statistics) ,TESTIS ,DATA analysis ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
This study was carried out to examine the potential beneficial effect of cordycepin on the decline of testicular function induced with age. A total of 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats (twenty-four 12-month-olds and six 2-month-olds) were divided into five groups. The young control (YC) and middle-aged control (MC) groups received vehicle only. Cordycepin-treated groups were administered daily doses of oral cordycepin at 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg body weight for 4 months. As a result, the MC group exhibited epididymal weight loss, decreased sperm motility, and reduced spermatogenesis compared to the young control group. Interestingly, the epididymal weights of middle-aged rats were dose-dependently increased by treatment with cordycepin. Cordycepin also improved calcium levels and decreased urea and nitrogen, uric acid, and creatinine in the blood of middle-aged rats. In addition, cordycepin significantly increased sperm motility and the progressiveness of sperm movement. All cordycepin-treated groups showed well-arranged spermatogonia, densely packed cellular material, and increased numbers of mature spermatozoa in the seminiferous lumen compared to the middle-aged control group. These results indicate that long-term administration of cordycepin can counteract the decline of testicular function in middle-aged rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...
- Published
- 2012
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