Propolis ameliorates ischemia/reperfusion-induced testicular damage by reducing oxidative stress

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of ethanolic extract of Turkish propo-lis (EEP) on testicular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage in rats in terms of biochemistry and histopathology, for the first time. Methods: A total of 18 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups with six rats in each group: control, torsion/detorsion (T/D), and T/D + EEP (100 mg/kg). Testicular torsion was performed by 720 degrees rotating the left testicle in a clockwise direction. The duration of ischemia was 4 h and orchiectomy was performed after 2 h of detorsion. EEP was applied only once 30 min before detorsion. Tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were determined using colorimetric methods. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated by proportioning tissue TOS and TAS values to each other. Tissue glu-tathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Johnsen's testicle scoring system was used for histological evaluation. Results: In the T/D group, it was determined that statistically significant decreasing in TAS, GSH, GPx levels and Johnsen score, and increasing in TOS, OSI and MDA levels (p < 0.05) compared with control group. EEP administration statistically significantly restored this I/R damage (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This is the first study to show that propolis prevent I/R-induced testicular damage through its antioxidant activity. More comprehensive studies are needed to see the underlying mechanisms. (C)2023 Asociacion Espanola de Andrologia, Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.