potential protective effects of ethanolic tribulus terrestris extract on reproductive damage induced by cytarabine (ara c) chemotherapy in male rats

Cytarabine (ara c), a common anticancer treatment for blood cancer. however, it has a negative impact on male reproductive development and function by lowering germ cell proliferation and producing apoptosis. this study aims to demonstrate not only the impact of the cytarabine medicine on the fertility of male albino rats but also the protective effects of tribulus terrestris extract (tte) following the administration of ara-c chemotherapy. twenty mature male rats will be divided into four groups. each group contains 5 rats. the first group is a control group, the second group dosed with ara-c (25 mg/kg bw) and the third group is dosed with tte (250 mg/kg), while the fourth group is dosed with tte (250 mg/kg bw) orally + ara-c (25 mg/kg bw) intraperitoneally for 28 days. our work aimed to investigate tte protective function against ara c-induced reproductive impairment in male adult rats. ara c caused dose-dependent increase in serum liver enzymes activities (ast, alt, and alp); elevated oxidative stress; impeded steroidogenesis (lower testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, (17β-hsd), decreased sperm’s parameters (motility, integrity, vcl, and vigor); and raised caspase level in comparison with other groups. tte was found to improve all the ara c-induced reproductive disruptions. in conclusion cytarabine that revealed detectable spermatogenesis degeneration and causes testicular damage, and tte works to reduce cytarabine damage.