Abstract
Quercetin (QR) has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in the long‐term treatment of streptozotocin(STZ)‐induced Diabetes mellitus (DM) in animal models. The present study examined the influence of QR on STZ‐induced oxidative stress in rat’s testicular cells. Male Wistar rats (n=36) were allocated into 6 groups: (1) control, (2) QR (25mg/kg), (3) QR (50mg/kg), (4) STZ (65mg/kg), (5) STZ+QR (25mg/kg) and (6) STZ+QR (50mg/kg) for 5 weeks. In testicular tissues, TBARS, T‐GSH, and NP‐SH levels were estimated. SOD, CAT and GST activities were also determined. In STZ group, TBARS levels were significantly increased while T‐GSH and NP‐SH levels were markedly reduced as compared to control rats. QR treatment to diabetic rats showed significant inhibition in increased TBARS levels and decreased T‐GSH and NP‐SH levels when compared to untreated diabetic rats. Enzymatic activities of SOD, CAT and GST were significantly inhibited in diabetic rats. QR treatment enhanced these activities compared to untreated diabetic rats. Histopathological evaluation revealed damage in testicular cells of diabetic rats and the treatment with QR showed protection. These findings suggest QR as a potentially beneficial agent to reduce testicular oxidative damage in diabetic rats, probably by its ability to attenuate free radicals generation and decrease lipid peroxidation.