Reports over the years have demonstrated toxic side effect-including reproductive toxicity- of tamoxifen (TAM), a drug of choice in the management of primary breast cancer. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a dietary polyphenol, reportedly elicits beneficial pharmacological effects. However, the impact of CGA on TAM-associated reproductive toxicity is absent in the literature. We, therefore, experimented on CGA's effect and TAM-mediated reproductive toxicity in rats. Cohorts of rats were treated with TAM (50 mg/kg) or co-treated with CGA (25 or 50 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days. The result showed that treatment of CGA significantly increases testosterone, LH, and FSH levels compared to the TAM group. However, prolactin level was markedly decreased after pretreatment of CGA in TAM-treated rats. CGA abated TAM-induced decreases acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and antioxidant enzymes in the testis. CGA alleviated TAM-facilitated surges of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in rats epididymis and testes. Additionally, CGA increased anti-inflammatory cytokine -interleukin-10-, suppressed caspase-3 activity, and reduced pathological lesions in the examined organs of rats co-treated with CGA and TAM. CGA phytoprotective effect improved reproductive function occasioned by TAM-mediated toxicities in rats, by abating oxido-inflammatory damages and downregulating apoptotic responses. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: CGA protects against the damaging oxido-inflammatory responses incumbent on TAM metabolism. As an antioxidant abundant in plant-derived foods, CGA reportedly protects against inflammatory damage, hypertension, and neurodegenerative diseases. We present evidence that CGA ameliorates TAM-induced reproductive dysfunction by suppressing oxidative and inflammation stress downregulate apoptosis and improve reproductive function biomarker in rats.
Keywords: Tamoxifen; apoptosis; chlorogenic acid; oxidative injury; inflammation; phytoprotection.
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