Effects of Hong Kong oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis enzymatic hydrolysate on spermatogenic dysfunction in male mice induced by triptolide
ZHANG Kaijia, ZHANG Xueyan, QIN Xiaoming*, LIN Haisheng, GAO Jialong, ZHENG Huina, CAO Wenhong
1.College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China; 2.Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Products Processing and Safety, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Product of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, National Research and Development Branch Center for Shellfish Processing (Zhanjiang), South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Abstract: To investigate the protective effects of oyster enzymatic hydrolysate (OEH) from Hong Kong oyster Crassostreahongkongensis on spermatogenic dysfunction in males, male mice with spermatogenic dysfunction were established by triptolide (TP) intraperitoneal injection for 21 days, and the stomach was administrated with the OEH at low, medium and high doses (250, 500, and 1 000 mg/kg).Sperm parameters, organ coefficient, serum hormone level and testicular tissue enzyme activity were measured in ICR male mice, and testicular tissue structure was histologically observed by H.E staining to explore the effect of OEH on male mice with spermatogenic dysfunction. The results showed that medium and high dose OEH led to increase the testicular coefficient of the mice. The histological observation showed that low, medium and high dose OEH resulted in decrease in vacuolation and improvement of the morphology of spermatogenic cells in spermatogenic tubes, with the similar number of spermatogenic cells in spermatogenic tubes to that in control group. Significant increase in the sperm number and sperm motility rate was observed in the mice in medium and high OEH dose groups (P<0.01), and significant decrease in the sperm malformation rate was found in all OEH groups (P<0.01) compared with model group. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was significantly increased in testicular tissue due to OEH (P<0.01), with dose-dependent. Meanwhile, oxidative stress was alleviated, since the activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were significantly increased in the testicular tissue by OEH administration (P<0.01), with significant decrease in the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) (P<0.01). There were significantly higher serum testosterone (T) levels and significantly lower levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in the mice in the OEH groups compared with the model group (P<0.01), similar hormone level to those in the control group. These findings indicate that OEH can effectively protect spermatogenic dysfunction induced by TP in male mice, with potential protective effect on male fertility.
2022, Vol. 37 
