Taify Pomegranate Juice Extract Abrogates Testicular Dysfunction Induced by Acrylamide: Role of Inflammatory, Antioxidants, and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers

Abstract

High altitude (HA) poses various dangers to living organisms, the most serious of which are oxidative stress and its accompanying metabolic problems, as well as hypoxia and its associated metabolic abnormalities. Acrylamide is a poisonous chemical produced under the oxidative stress as a result of intracellular reactive oxygen species formation and toxicity. Heating carbohydrates-rich meals give acrylamide that is widely used in the industry. The precise mechanism of acrylamide toxicity is unknown. The current study aimed to examine the impacts of Taify pomegranate juice (TPJ) from Taif area (Punica granatum L.) on acrylamide-induced testicular stress and dysfunction. Twenty four male of adult Wistar rats, were divided into four groups: Group 1 was a negative-control received only saline; Group 2 was a positive-control that received orally acrylamide (20 mg/kg/bw) for consecutive 4 weeks; and Group 3 received TPJ; 2 mL/kg/bw, orally for 4 weeks. Rats in Group 4 received pomegranate juice and acrylamide as described in Groups 2 and 3, with the TPJ delivered 1 week before the acrylamide. Acrylamide elevated serum levels of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)). Moreover, acrylamide decreased concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), leutinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone and altered semen characteristics (decreased sperm viability and concentration, and increased sperm abnormalities). Acrylamide increased malondialdehyde levels (MDA), while it decreased antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase; SOD and reduced glutathione; GSH). The inflammation associated cytokines were restored by TPJ administration to acrylamide rats. GSH and SOD were significantly recovered to near control levels in TPJ plus acrylamide group compared to acrylamide-administered rats. TPJ preadministration to rats restored semen profiles, alteration in testis pathology, and normalized the changes on the male reproductive hormones affected by acrylamide. Furthermore, the TPJ reversed the upregulation in caspases-3 and the decrease in B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) gene expressions affected by acrylamide, with significant upregulation of hemoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor erythroid-2 (Nrf2) mRNA expression. These findings collectively revealed that TPJ possesses anti-inflammatory, potent antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effect against acrylamide-induced testicular damage.