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Background: Obesity, which is typically associated with hypercholesterolemia, has become a worldwide problem in recent times, raising alarming concerns on the testicular function in men in countries around the world. Aim: Hence, this study focused at discovering the potency of ginger inclusive diet in correcting testicular disorder in a high cholesterol diet (HCD)-induced obese rat model focusing on cholesterol pathway. Methods: The rodents were split up into seven separate groups (n = 10): healthy rats fed basal diet; obese untreated rats fed HCD; reference drug-treated obese rats, clomiphene citrate (CC, 2 mg/kg BW/day); obese rats fed high cholesterol diet with 2 % raw ginger (RG) inclusion; obese rats fed high cholesterol diet with 4 % RG inclusion; obese rats fed high cholesterol diet with 2 % boiled ginger (BG) inclusion; obese rats fed high cholesterol diet with 4 % BG inclusion for twenty-four weeks. Thereafter, the testosterone level, semen parameters, steroidogenic enzymes, lipid-metabolism related biomolecules, inflammation-related and apoptosis-related markers enzymes expression were assayed using testicular tissue. Result: Result showed that HCD disrupted the semen parameters, and affected testosterone level by causing a down-regulation in the gene expression of steroidogenic enzymes as well as up-regulation in the gene expression of inflammatory and apoptotic markers when compared with healthy control rats. Interestingly, treatment with ginger inclusive diet attenuated these effects with boiled ginger treatment having better results relative to the raw ginger treatment. Conclusion: This study confirms that a diet rich in ginger prevents testicular tissue by modulating the expression of key enzymes involved in inflammation, cholesterol metabolism, apoptosis, and steroidogenesis in HCD-induced obese rats, with boiled ginger possessing the greatest therapeutic benefit in the management of obesity-induced male fertility derangements, even beyond its impact on body weight regulation.

This study assessed the possible aggravation of testicular toxicity by sodium benzoate (NaB) in male Wistar rats infected by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Sexually matured rats were randomly grouped into four treatment groups (n = 7) and administered the appropriate regimen: control (dispensed 1 ml of distilled water as vehicle, group A), NaB-administered (received 600 mg/kg body weight of NaB for 14 days, group B), LPS- and NaB- administered (250 μL/kg body weight of LPS for 7 days before co-administration with 600 mg/kg body weight of NaB from 8 to 14th day, group C), LPS- administered (received 1 ml of distilled water for 7 days before administration of 250 μL/kg body weight of LPS from 8 to 14th day, group D). LPS or NaB and their combined administration reduced the total sperm count, sperm viability, sperm motility, testes-body weight, and levels/activities of catalase, glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, reduced glutathione but elevated (p < 0.05) the abnormal sperm cells and Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) degree in comparison with the control. The trend analysis of the combined administration of LPS and NaB also demonstrated a more remarkable change in comparison to the LPS-alone or NaB-alone treated group. Furthermore, combined administration of LPS and NaB resulted in a conspicuous change in the histopathology in the testes of such rats compared to the NaB-or LPS-alone treated rats. Considered as a whole, NaB aggravated testicular toxicity in the condition of lipopolysaccharide infection by a mechanism associated with increased oxidative stress and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]