Evaluation of Some Traditional Antidiabetic Plants on Testis in the Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Male Albino Rats: Histological, Histochemical, Immunohistochemical and Morphometric Study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the common and widely distributed metabolic diseases all over the world. This disease is characterized by hyperglycemia that results from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Previous studies reported negative complications of diabetes on the male genital system with associated gonadal dysfunction. Different medicinal plant species were used as a traditional treatment for diabetes mellitus long times ago. Aim of the work: As diabetes had been reported to affect the male genital system, this work was aimed to investigate the antidiabetic effects of the aqueous extract of the following herbs: Ambrosia maritima, L. (Damsissa), Chrozophoratinctoria, L. (Sammo), Artemisia annua, L. (Kaysom) and Artemisia judaica, L. (Sheeh) on the testis’ histology in the alloxan-induced diabetic male albino rats. Material and Methods: This study was performed on sixty male albino rats with an average 100-110 g body weight. The animals were divided into six groups (10/cage); Group1 (Control untreated-group), Group 2 (Alloxan-induced diabetic group), Group 3 (diabetic group treated orally with “28.5 mg/kg body wt. twice/day” of the Damsissa extract), Group 4 (diabetic group treated orally with “28.5 mg/kg body wt. twice/day” of the Sammo extract), Group 5(diabetic group treated orally with “28.5 mg/kg body wt. twice/day” of the Kaysom extract)and Group 6 (diabetic group treated orally with “28.5 mg/kg body wt. twice/day” of the Sheeh extract). Results: Considerable improvements in the testicular tissue morphological changes that were observed in diabetic groups had been detected after treatment with Damsissa and Sammo in comparison to the control group. These improvements were less obvious after Kaysom and Sheeh treatment. Conclusion: It could be concluded that Damsissa and Sammo can guard against the negative effects of diabetes on the testis.