crocin reduces oxidative stress produced by busulfan administration on fertility of male rats

Background & objective: busulfan (bus) as a drug for cancer treatment can produce free radicals. crocin (cro) is a potent antioxidant with beneficial effects. this study was designed to evaluate the effects of cro against bus-related damages to the male rats reproductive parameters. materials & methods: forty-eight male rats were randomly assigned into 8 groups; group 1 (normal control group) received normal saline; group 2 (bus control group) received 10 mg/kg/body weight (b.w.) of bus; group 3-5 (cro groups) received 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 mg/kg/b.w. of cro, respectively; group 6-8 (bus + cro groups) received bus + cro. treatments were administered daily by intraperitoneal injection in a five-week period. the sperm parameters, testis malondialdehyde (mda), total antioxidant capacity (tac), testosterone level, and germinal layer height were evaluated histologically and analyzed statistically. results: all parameters reduced significantly in the bus control group compared to the normal control group (p<0.01) except the mda level (which increased). the cro and cro + bus treatments in all doses increased whole parameters significantly compared to the bus control group (p<0.01) except mda level (which decreased). no significant modifications were observed in all cro groups compared to the normal control group (p>0.05). conclusion: it seems that cro could increase the quality of spermatozoa and improves bus -induced adverse effects on male fertility parameters.