Amentoflavone alleviates nonylphenol-induced testicular damage through regulating Nrf-2/Keap-1, steroidogenic, hormonal, and histological profile in albino rats.

This study was conducted to assess the palliative role of amentoflavone (AMF) against nonylphenol (NP) induced testicular dysfunction. Male albino rats (n = 48) were separated into 4 equal groups, control group, NP treated group, NP + AMF co-treated group and only AMF treated group. The trial was conducted for 56 days. NP exposure lowered the expressions of Nrf-2 and upregulated Keap-1 expression. NP administration significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), heme oxygensae-1 (HO-1) and glutathione reductase (GSR), while increasing ROS and MDA levels. In addition, a considerable (P < 0.05) escalation was seen in dead spermatozoa number, deformities in sperm tail, head and midpiece in NP administrated rats. Moreover, the expressions of steroidogenic enzymes were downregulated, whereas inflammatory markers were escalated in NP exposed rats. Furthermore, the expressions of apoptotic markers were considerably (P < 0.05) increased and on the other hand anti-apoptotic marker expressions were downregulated. A significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the hormonal level was also observed in NP exposed group. Moreover, the histopathological assessment demonstrated that NP significantly (P < 0.05) impaired the testicular tissues. However, AMF + NP co-treatment significantly alleviated these testicular impairments. This study demonstrates that AMF displays a considerable potential to attenuate testicular damage due to its anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant anti-inflammatory and pro-steroidogenic nature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that presents the protective effects of AMF against NP induced testicular dysfunction via modulating Nrf-2/Keap-1 axis and restoring steroidogenesis.