Protective Effect of Naringin on Methotrexate-Induced Testicular Apoptosis and Autophagy Via Reducing Oxidative Stress in Male Rats

In this study the possible protective effect of naringin (nrg) on methotrexate (mtx)–induced damage on testes of rats was investigated. a total of 35 male rats were used as materials. animals were divided into 5 groups, 7 rats in each; group 1 (control): a single dose injection of physiological saline was administered intraperitoneally on the first day. group 2 (nrg 100): nrg (100 mg/kg b.w./ day) was given orally for 7 days. group 3 (mtx): single dose of 20 mg/kg of mtx was given intraperitoneally on the first day. group 4 (nrg 50+mtx) 50 mg/kg/day nrg was given for 7 days after a single intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg mtx. group 5 (nrg 100+mtx): 100 mg/kg/day nrg was given for 7 days after a single intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg mtx. as a results, mtx increased to malondialdehyde (mda) levels and decreased glutathione (gsh) level and superoxide dismutase (sod), catalase (cat), and glutathione peroxidase (gsh-px) activities when compared to control group. on the other hand, nrg (100 mg/kg) treatment caused decreasing the mda levels and increa the gsh levels and sod, cat, and gsh-px activities when compared to mtx alone group. nrg 50 mg/kg treatment did not increase sod activity. also, mtx treatment increased caspase-3 and b-cell lymphoma 3 protein (bcl-3) expression levels in testicular tissue when compared to control group. however, nrg (both at the dose of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) treatment lightened significantly the testis caspase-3 and bcl-3 expression levels when compared to mtx alone group. in conclusion, nrg (especially at the dose of 100 mg/kg) treatment decreased mtx-induced testicular toxicity in male rats.