Gum Arabic improves the reproductive capacity through upregulation of testicular glucose transporters (GLUTs) mRNA expression in Alloxan induced diabetic rat

Abstract Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder and an endemic disease of the twenty-first century. DM-induced tissue damage is associated with testicular deregulation resulting in reduction of fertility. Gum Arabic (GA) is reported to improve reproductive function. In this study, 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 20 of each): control group, diabetic group which were injected with Alloxan, and diabetic group which was given 10% GA in drinking water for 10 weeks. The effect of GA on sperm quality blood glucose, serum testosterone and 17β-estradiol levels were investigated. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities together with testis histopathological changes were measured. LDH and glucose transporters (GLUTs) genes mRNA were also evaluated. GA treatment significantly (P