Luffa operculata impaired testis relative weight and testosterone concentration in adult Wistar rats in comparison to young adult male rats

The tea made with the dried fruits of Luffa operculata, also known as buchinha-do-norte, is popularly drunk or inhaled as a medicine to treat the symptoms of sinusitis and rhinitis. Nonetheless, when drunk, the tea can cause abortion. According to recent literature, adult male rats have undergone microscopically and macroscopically testicular changes after the administration of the aqueous extract of buchinha-do-norte (BNE) [1]. The present study aimed to compare how the oral administration of BNE to sexually-experienced adult male rats (150 days-old) and the prenatal exposition (from Gestation-Day 17 to Gestation-Day 21) of sexually-inexperienced young adult rats (60 days-old) to BNE, at a dose of 1mg/kg/5 consecutive days, influenced the testicular macroscopical parameters and the testosterone concentration in the blood. Four groups were then analyzed: control group and experimental group for the adult rats (CGA and EGA), and for the young adult rats (CGY and EGY). Body weight, testis weight, cranial-caudal axis, lateral-lateral axis and testis volume were higher in the older males (p<0.05), while the testis relative weight showed to be significantly higher in both CGY and EGY (p<0.001). Also, testosterone serum levels were higher in the young adult rats, despite their sex inexperience (p <0.05). Present findings suggested that the direct administration of BNE, via gavage, may have caused impairment in the relative weight of testis from the adult rats and provoked impairment in the testosterone levels, despite the sexual experience of the rats.

• References

• 1 Alves CS, Frias HV, Kirsten TB, Cordeiro F, Bernardi MM, Suffredini IB. Luffa operculata fruit aqueous extract induces motor impairments, anxiety-like behavior, and testis damage in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 2018; 222: 52-60