Protective effects of crocin on testes of adult cyclophosphamide treated mice

Background & aim: The side effect of cyclophosphamide is to reduce fertility or even sterility in men treated with these medications. This study was performed to improve these side effects. Methods: In the present experimental study, 15 male mice (20-25 g) were divided into three groups. The control group was treated with 0.1cc of saline daily. The sham group received 15 mg/kg cyclophosphamide once a week and the experimental group was treated with 200 mg/kg Crocin intraperitoneally along with cyclophosphamide. Five weeks after injection total antioxidant capacity of serum was measured. The testes were studied for histological and morphometric parameters. The collected data was analyzed by ANOVA. Results: Histomorphometrical study indicated that epithelial thickness, diameter of seminiferous tubules and Leydig cells of experimental group was significantly greater than sham controls (p<0.05). Mean distribution of mast cells in the sham group compared to the experimental group showed a significant increase (p<0.05). Additionally, positive PAS reaction, alkaline phosphatase and vegetable fat in the cytoplasm of Leydig cells of sham control were observed, whereas in the other groups not seen. In addition, total antioxidant capacity of sham group decreased significantly compared to the control and experimental groups with the sham control and experimental groups ((p