Psoralea corylifolia protects against testicular torsion/detorsion-induced ischemia/reperfusion injury

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The pathophysiology of testicular torsion-detorsion is ischemia-reperfusion injury of the testis. In the course of testicular ischemia and reperfusion, over-generation of reactive oxygen species is a major initiating component of the testicular spermatogenic injury. Reactive oxygen species regulate many genes whose expression affects cell-cycle regulation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. The transcription factor cAMP-responsive element modulator-tau (CREM tau) plays an essential role in spermatogenesis. Psoralea corylifolia, a medicinal herb with anti-oxidative activity, has been used to treat male reproductive dysfunction in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we investigated the effect of Psoralea corylifolia on testicular torsion/detorsion-induced injury. Materials and methods: Sixty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, each containing 20 rats. Rats in the control group underwent a sham operation of the left testis. In the torsion-detorsion group, the left testis was rotated 720 for 2 h. Rats in the treatment group received the same surgical procedure as the torsion-detorsion group, but Psoralea corylifolia was administered orally. Bilateral orchiectomy was performed on half of the rats in each experimental group at 4 h after detorsion for measurement of malondialdehyde which is an indicator of intratesticular reactive oxygen species content. Orchiectomy was performed on the remaining rats at 3 months after detorsion for analysis of testicular CREM tau expression and spermatogenesis. Results: Unilateral testicular torsion-detorsion caused a significant increase in malondialdehyde level and caused significant decreases in CREM tau expression and spermatogenesis in ipsilateral testes. Psoralea corylifolia treatment significantly decreased malondialdehyde level and significantly increased CREM tau expression and spermatogenesis in ipsilateral testes, compared with torsion-detorsion group. Conclusions: These results suggest that Psoralea corylifolia may protect testicular spermatogenesis by enhancing CREM tau expression by scavenging reactive oxygen species. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.