Rumex hastatus leaves extract alleviates Triclosan-induced reproductive toxicity and improves fertility by modulating oxidative stress.

The current study was designed to determine potential therapeutic role of R. hastatus leaf extract against Triclosan (TCS)-induced testicular toxicity. The methanolic extract of R. hastatus was evaluated for its antioxidant potential, while GC-MS analysis was carried out to identify bioactive components in the extract. For the toxicity study, forty adult male rats were divided into four groups. One group was set as control group whereas, other three groups were given TCS (50 mg/kg), R. hastatus extract (RE, 150 mg/kg) and TCS+RE (50 mg/kg + 150mg/kg) orally for 30 consecutive days. Results showed that TCS exposure caused significant alteration in sperm parameters, and reduced antioxidant enzyme activity while increasing the concentration of oxidative stress markers. Moreover, DNA integrity was compromised along with testicular histopathological damage and lowered levels of reproductive hormones. Fertility test revealed reduced pregnancy outcomes and small litter sizes in females paired with TCS-treated males. RE treatment effectively normalized the attributes of sperm parameters and enzymatic activities of antioxidants. Additionally, co-treatment of RE restored the hormonal levels thus normalizing testicular architecture. Increased pregnancy outcomes and litter size in RE-treated animals were also recorded. So, it is concluded that R. hastatus plant extract has the potential to attenuate TCS-induced reproductive toxicity using antioxidant potential.