Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a heavy metal toxicant, causing several adverse reactions to animals and humans including reproductive dysfunction. The potential protective role of
Ziziphus spina
-
christi
leaf extract (ZSCLE) against testicular impairments associated with mercury chloride (HgCl
2
) exposure in rats was investigated in the current study. Four experimental groups were employed as follows (
n
= 7): group I served as control, group II was gavaged with ZSCLE (300 mg/kg), group III was administered with HgCl
2
(0.4 mg/kg), and group IV was preadministered with ZSCLE 1 h before HgCl
2
. All groups were treated daily for 28 days. The exposure to HgCl
2
caused a marked increase in Hg concentration in the testicular tissue, which was accompanied with a decrease in testis index. A reproductive impairment was recorded following HgCl
2
exposure as verified through the decrease in levels of testosterone, luteinizing, and follicle-stimulating hormones. HgCl
2
was found to enhance the development of oxidative damage in the testicular tissue as presented by the imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidant molecules. In addition, excessive release of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β was recorded in response to HgCl
2
intoxication. Furthermore, a disturbance in the apoptotic proteins in favor of the pro-apoptotic proteins was also observed following HgCl
2
intoxication. However, ZSCLE administration along with HgCl
2
abolished significantly the molecular, biochemical, and histopathological alterations induced by HgCl
2
intoxication. Our findings suggest that ZSCLE could be used to mitigate reproductive dysfunction associated with HgCl
2
exposure.