Objective: To explore the protective effect of the Chinese medicinal prescription Linggui Fang (LGF) on the reproductive system of the ornidazole-induced asthenospermia (AS) rat and its possible action mechanisms.
Methods: Forty male SD rats weighing 200－230 g were equally randomized into four groups, blank control, AS model control, LGF treatment and L-carnitine (LC) intervention. The AS models were made in the latter three groups by intragastrical administration of ornidazole at 400 mg/kg. Meanwhile, the rats in the LGF group were treated intragastrically with LGF at 17.5 g/kg, those in the LC group with LC at 100 mg/kg, and the control animals with 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Na), all once a day for 4 successive weeks. Then, all the rats were sacrificed for examination of the semen parameters, determination of the LC content and OCTN2 mRNA expression in the epididymis and observation of the histopathological changes in the testis.
Results: Compared with the AS model controls, the rats in the other groups showed significantly higher percentages of progressively motile sperm and total motile sperm (P < 0.01) as well as a higher LC content in the epididymis (P < 0.01), but no statistically significant difference in sperm concentration (P > 0.05). The expression of OCTN2 mRNA was remarkably upregulated in the LGF and LC groups in comparison with that in the AS model control (P < 0.05). Compared with the rats in the blank control group, the AS model controls exhibited markedly increased morphologically abnormal seminiferous tubules, irregularly arranged, with narrowed lumens and reduced numbers of sperm and sperm cells, as well as significantly increased hollow seminiferous tubules with deficient and disorderly arranged spermatogenic cells and partial epithelial degeneration and vacuolization. Those in the LGF and LC groups, however, manifested almost normal testicular histomorphology, with basically regular arrangement of different layers of seminiferous tubules.
Conclusions: ①Ornidazole induces AS in rats by reducing the LC content in the epididymis, while LGF can improve the sperm motility and testicular morphology of the rats and upregulate the expression of OCTN2 mRNA in the epididymis by increasing the LC concentration.
Keywords: Linggui Fang; asthenospermia; ornidazole; L-carnitine.