Ameliorating effect of gold nanoparticles decorated on biodegradable apple pectin modified magnetic nanoparticles on epididymo-orchitis inducing alterations in sperm quality and spermatogenic cells apoptosis.

[Display omitted] • Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs reduced spermatogenic cells apoptotic indexes and prostate weight gain. • Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs improved the sperm percentage with total motility, normal morphology, and progressive motility and Johnsen's and Miller's criteria. • The particles are almost homo-morphic and are sized between 30 and 50 nm. In the current years, conjugated bio-nanomaterials involving magnetic core are interested as promising platform in modern generation biological composites for the treatment of several types of inflammations such as epididymo-orchitis. In this regard, we described a novel Au NPs supported apple pectin (AP) modified magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles as a novel nano-biocomposite (Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs). The post-synthetically modified biogenic material was analyzed in details over a number of physicochemical methods like, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). In the in vivo part, we divided 80 Wistar rats into five following groups (n = 16 per group): a. Control-intact group, b. Vehicle group, c. Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs group, d. epididymo-orchitis group, and e. epididymo-orchitis/ Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs group. We assessed relative sex organs weight, body weight, germ cell apoptosis, Johnson's criteria, sperm parameters, and germ cell layers number. Acute epididymo-orchitis raised the prostate relative weight and seminal vesicles and apoptotic indexes of spermatogenic cells, also decreased the quality of sperm such as sperm concentration, normal sperm percentage, and total motility and Johnsen's and Miller's scores. Fe 3 O 4 @AP-Au NPs group reduced spermatogenic cells apoptotic indexes and prostate weight gain and improved the sperm percentage with total motility, normal morphology, and progressive motility and Johnsen's and Miller's criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]