protective effect of propolis and vitamin e on testicular dysfunction in male rats induced by cadmium chloride

Background: testicular dysfunction in male rats can manifest in various ways and may be caused by genetic, environmental, hormonal, and nutritional factors.  objectives: this study aims to evaluate the effects of propolis and vitamin e against induced testicular dysfunction by cadmium chloride (cdcl2) in male rats.methods: forty adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups containing 10 animals each as follows: group 1 (negative control group): rats received distilled water; group 2 (positive control group): rats received cdcl2 at 1 mg/kg every 72 h via intraperitoneal (ip) injection; group 3 (cdcl2+propolis): rats were treated with propolis at 250 mg/kg body weight (bw) orally daily by a gavage needle, followed by cdcl2 at 1 mg/kg ip injection every 72 h and group 4 (cdcl2 + vit e): rats were treated with vit e at 100 mg/kg body weight (bw) orally daily by a gavage needle followed by cdcl2 1 mg/kg by ip injection every 72 h. after four weeks, the animals were sacrificed, and tissues were collected to measure experimental parameters, including histopathological study, testosterone level, tumor necrosis factor α (tnf-α), and caspase 3. results: the results showed a significant (p≤0.5) increase in caspase and tnf-α in g2 compared to g1, while testosterone showed a significant (p≤0.5) decrease in g2 compared to g1. treatment with propolis and vitamin e enhanced testosterone, tnf-α, and caspase three concentrations compared with g2 (positive group). histopathological analysis of propolis and vitamin e restored normal tissue structure compared to the positive control group, showing clear damage in the interstitial leydig cells and severe damage in the interstitial connective tissue. in contrast, the sertoli cells and primary spermatocytes showed clear necrotic changes. conclusion: the study concluded that propolis and vitamin e have neuroprotective effects against testicular dysfunction.