Antioxidant and modulatory role of Chlorophytum borivilianum against arsenic induced testicular impairment

Arsenic has a suppressive influence on spermatogenesis and induces impairment in male reproductive system due to oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to test the arsenic induced toxicity and protection by Chlorophytum borivilianum. The effect of sodium arsenite (4 mg/(kg body weight (bw)·day)) via double distilled water without or with C. borivilianum (800 mg/(kg bw·day)) was evaluated in Swiss albino mice for 30 days. The radical scavenging activity of the aqueous C. borivilianum root extract was measured using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrayzyl) radical. Qualitative assessment of various cell types in the testis, sperm count and motility, testicular activity of lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), acid and alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol and serum testosterone were monitored. Arsenic treatment showed a significant increase in LPO, acid and alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol and decrease in sperm count, sperm motility, GSH and serum testosterone. Combined treatment showed significant decrease in LPO, acid and alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol and elevation in sperm count, sperm motility, GSH and serum testosterone. Testicular histopathology showed that C. borivilianum had reduced degeneration of germ cell in the seminiferous tubules and loss of sperms induced by arsenic intoxication. The results thus led us to conclude that administration of C. borivilianum root extract is found to be protective against arsenic induced toxicity.