An Examination of the Role of Luteolin in Doxorubicin-Induced Testicular Damage

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of luteolin(LUT) on testicular histology and biochemical changes in rats subjectedto doxorubicin (DOX)-induced testicular damage. We used 34 malerats (8 weeks old) divided into four groups: Control group treatedwith normal saline on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28; LUT treated group(20 µg/kg daily for 28 days); DOX treated group (5 mg/kg on the samedays as for the control group); DOX+LUT group (same scheme of treatmentas for the LUT and DOX groups). Rats were sacrificed on day 29.Testicular tissue of the LUT group had normal histological structure.The DOX group had severe histopathological changes compared to thecontrol which were significantly reversed by LUT treatment. Serumtestosterone level in the DOX+LUT group was higher compared to thecontrol and DOX groups while the malondialdehyde level decreasedcompared to the DOX group. Testicular malondialdehyde level of theDOX and DOX+LUT groups were higher than in the control and the totaloxidant status of the DOX group was higher compared to the controlwhile LUT treatment increased total antioxidant status in the DOX+LUTgroup. Luteolin had visible protective effect against testiculardamage induced by doxorubicin, producing the improvement of histological structureby significantly enhancing antioxidant levels and reducing oxidantlevels.