[Tea polyphenols protects the testis following testicular torsion/detorsion in rats].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of tea polyphenols against testis injury induced by unilateral testicular torsion/detorsion.
Methods: Twenty-four healthy male Wistar rats were equally randomized into Group I, sham operation, and Groups II and III, subjected to left lateral 720 degrees testicular torsion, followed by detorsion at 6 hours. Intraperitoneal injection of isotonic saline and polyphenols was initiated 30 minutes prior to detorsion and maintained at a low dose for 3 days postoperatively. All the rats were fed under the same condition and sacrificed 5 days later, the left torsional testes harvested for the detection of the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells by TUNEL.
Results: Significant differences were observed among Groups I, I and III in the levels of SOD in the left torsional testes ([285.00 +/- 22.51], [242.00 +/- 17.62] and [261.00 +/- 10.01] nU/mg, P < 0.05), as well as in the levels of MDA ([1.81 +/- 0.20], [4.34 +/- 0.34] and [2.94 +/- 0.38] nU/mg, P < 0.05). And the apoptosis indexes of spermatogenic cells were 6.64 +/- 1.82, 55.23 +/- 6.46 and 31.84 +/- 5.56 in the three groups, significantly reduced in Group III as compared with Group II (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Tea polyphenols has a protective effect against testicular torsion-induced ischemic reperfusion injury in rats.