Shielding Fertility: Quercetin's Role in Battling Methomyl-Induced Pituitary-Testicular Axis Disruption | ||||
New Valley Journal of Agricultural Science | ||||
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2025, Page 1-17 PDF (1.02 MB) | ||||
Document Type: Original Research | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/nvjas.2025.352579.1303 | ||||
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Authors | ||||
Ahmed Ibrahim El-Tokhy ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
1Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt. | ||||
2Histology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt | ||||
3Department of pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, New Valley University, Kharga, Egypt | ||||
4Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taibah University, KSA | ||||
5Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt | ||||
6Department of Family and Community Medicine and Medical Education, College of Medicine, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawara 42353, Saudi Arabia | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Pesticides play a crucial role in protecting crops and increasing yield, but unintended exposure can lead to adverse effects, especially on human health. High oxidative stress and inflammation can disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, an important system for impacting gonadal activation, spermatogenesis, pubertal onset and fertility. This study aims to explore the testicular damage and changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis induced by subacute oral exposure to methomyl, as well as the potential protective effects of quercetin. The rats were divided into four groups: control (CO), methomyl-exposed (Meth), quercetin-treated (Qu), and methomyl plus quercetin (Meth/Qu). The methomyl group showed testicular apoptosis and decreased levels of pituitary and gonadal hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone, along with elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and the pro-apoptotic marker caspase-3. Quercetin treatment alleviated these effects, improved hormone levels, and reversed methomyl-induced testicular damage. This study highlights the potential of quercetin, a nutritional anti-inflammatory substance, in mitigating methomyl-induced physiological disturbances. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
methomyl; quercetin; pituitary-testicular axis; apoptosis; inflammation | ||||
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