More than 90% of diabetic patients suffer from sexual dysfunction, including diminished sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm viability, and low testosterone levels. The effects of Momordica charantia (MC) were studied by estimating the blood levels of insulin, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), testosterone (TST), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in diabetic rats treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg b.w. of the total extract. Testicular antioxidants, epididymal sperm characteristics, testicular histopathology, and lesion scoring were also investigated. Testicular mRNA expression of apoptosis-related markers such as antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and proapoptotic Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) were evaluated by real-time PCR. Furthermore, caspase-3 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. MC administration resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose and HbA1c and marked elevation of serum levels of insulin, TST, and gonadotropins in diabetic rats. It induced a significant recovery of testicular antioxidant enzymes, improved histopathological changes of the testes, and decreased spermatogenic and Sertoli cell apoptosis. MC effectively inhibited testicular apoptosis, as evidenced by upregulation of Bcl-2 and downregulation of Bax and caspase-3. Moreover, reduction in apoptotic potential in MC-treated groups was confirmed by reduction in the Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA expression ratio.
Keywords: Bax/Bcl-2; Momordica charantia; caspase-3; diabetes; male fertility.