Protective and Ameliorative Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil on Cadmium-Damaged Wistar Rats’ Testes

Akintunde OW, Joseph OO, Afolabi HO, Alamu OA and Abdulrahaman A

Department of Anatomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria

^*Correspondance to: Alamu OA 

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Abstract:

Purpose: Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental and industrial pollutant that affects the male reproductive system. Cd induces its effect by affecting tissue antioxidant enzyme systems. Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is consumed locally as food, used for cooking and production of margarine. It is commonly used as herbal medicine worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective and ameliorative effects of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) against testes-damaged induced by Cd. Methodology: Twenty-five healthy male rats were grouped into five as following: Controls (A), Cdtreated (B), VCO-treated (C), Cd+VCO (D) and VCO+Cd (E). The control group received distilled water. Cd was given at dose of 4.56 mg/kg body weight for 2 weeks duration and VCO was given at 6.7 ml/kg body weight for 7 weeks. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, the semen was collected for sperm analysis and testes were removed for microscopic and histomorphometric evaluations. Findings: The current study showed marked morphological changes in the form of irregular tubular shape, deleterious basement membrane and irregularity of testicular shape of rats treated with Cd alone. However, the rats treated with Cd+VCO and VCO+Cd showed milder irregular tubules, wide interstitial space and minute foci of necrosis in the testes. The VCO rats showed normal histological features when compared with the control. Body weight analysis of the rats shows insignificant increase from the initial week to the final week of the experiment for all Groups. The rats of VCO showed insignificant increase of testicular weight, likewise, the rats of Cd+VCO and VCO+Cd when compared with Cd group.

Keywords:

Rat; Testes toxicity; Cadmium; VCO

Cite the Article:

Akintunde OW, Joseph OO, Afolabi HO, Alamu OA, Abdulrahaman A. Protective and Ameliorative Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil on Cadmium-Damaged Wistar Rats’ Testes. World J Surg Surgical Res. 2023; 6: 1440..