Anti-oxidative effects of citro flavonoids on spermatogenesis in rat

Citrus fruits have long been recognized as containing valuable sources of important nutrients which are biologically active in humans. Citrus fruits, such as oranges, contain compounds called phytochemicals that can be included into three major groups: the flavonoids, limonoids and carotenoids. The flavonoids are a group of benzopyran derivatives which occur widely in plants. The flavonoids typically consist of a benzene ring fused with the heterocyclic six-membered ring containing an oxygen atom. As citrus has an antioxidant’s potential, we want to evaluating its useful effect on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters. Wistar male rat (n=30) were allocated into three groups, control (n=10) and test groups (n=20), that subdivided into groups of 2 that received citrus extract powder (400 and 600 mg/rat) for 30 consequence day. Animals were kept in standard conditions. In twentieth day the testes tissue of rats in whole groups were removed and sperm was collected from epididymis and prepared for analysis. TAC, SOD levels and percentage of sperm viability and motility in both test groups significantly increased (p<0.05) in comparison to control group, whereas, sperm concentration, morphology and testes weights in both experimental and control group were similar. The level of MDA in both extract groups were significantly decreased (p<0.05). Results revealed that administration of 600 mg/kg/day citrus extract significantly increased the TAC, SOD levels and sperm percentage, viability, motility and decreased MDA levels. This suggested that citrus may be promising in enhancing sperm healthy parameters.     Key words: Anti-oxidative, citrus, spermatogenesis, super oxide dismutase, testis.