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Ethanol extract of dragon fruit and its effects on sperm quality and histology of the testes in mice
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The increasing prevalence of infertility cases is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries due to changes in diet and lifestyle. Dragon fruit (Hylocereus co-staricensis-[HC]) plays an important role as a fertility agent due to its antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties. The main aim of the present study was to identify the effects of ethanol extract of HC on sperm quality and histology of the testes. A total of twenty 10-week-old male ICR mice were divided equally into four different groups. Ethanol extract of HC (diluted to 0.2 mL with distilled water) was gavaged for 25 days at a dose of 250 mg/kg , 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg body weight to the animals of group II (n=5), III (n=5) and IV (n=5), respectively. The animals of group I (control, n=5) had distilled water (0.2 ml). Re-sults were analyzed using one way ANOVA test and the data were significant at p<0.05. Oral administration of HC extract showed an increased sperm count, sperm viability, and its production rate. The HC extract at a dose of 500 mg/kg was found to be most effective to increase sperm count whereas HC of 1000 mg/kg effectively increased sperm viability and its production rate. Histological examination of the testis showed high density of sperm in seminiferous tubules. From our present experimental findings we are tempted to suggest that the ethanol extract of HC could be a potential male fertility agent.
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... The RDFPE of 1000 mg/kg BW was proved to be the optimum dose to restore spermatozoa viability and motility in hypercholesterolemia rats, similar to spermatozoa viability and motility after treatment with Simvastatin at a dose of 10 mg/kg BW. These results were similar to those of ethanolic extract of Hylocereus polyrhizus peel orally, which showed an increase in spermatozoa count, spermatozoa viability (Aziz and Noor, 2010), and spermatogenesis cells in rats induced by a high-fat diet (Cantika et al., 2019). ...
This study aims to determine the effect of red dragon (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit peel extract (RDFPE) on spermatozoa motility and viability of hypercholesterolemic rats (Rattus norvegicus) as a model. Twenty male rats were randomly divided into negative control (NC), positive control (PC), treatment 1 (T1), treatment 2 (T2), and treatment 3 (T3) groups. All rats were given 2 mL of high cholesterol feed orally every day for 28 days. On day-15, all rats were measured for their blood cholesterol levels, followed by treatment for 14 days. Rats in the NC, PC, T1, T2, and T3 groups were treated with 1% Na-CMC, Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW, and RDFPE of 500, 750, and 1000 mg/kg BW, respectively. On day-29, all rats were sacrificed to evaluate spermatozoa viability and motility. The results showed that spermatozoa viability and motility in the hypercholesterolemic rats (NC) group were the lowest (p <0.05) among the groups. Treatment of hypercholesterolemic rats with Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW (PC) group showed higher (p <0.05) spermatozoa viability and motility compared to the NC group. RDFPE dose of 1000 mg/kg BW (T3 group) resulted in higher (p <0.05) spermatozoa viability and motility compared to other RDFPE doses (T1 and T2) and the control (NC) groups, and it was similar (p >0.05) compared with the Simvastatin treated (PC) group. It could be concluded that the administration of 1000 mg/kg BW ethanolic extract of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel increased the viability and motility of spermatozoa of hypercholesterolemic rats (Rattus norvegicus) which were the same as the group of rats given Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW.
... It helps in reducing the size of tumors as well. Basically, dragon fruits boost your immune system from every direction, so if you feel like you're frequently getting sick, feeling under the weather, or even if you are at a high risk of developing cancer, dragon fruit might be the answer for you (Aziz and Noor, 2010). The final boost to your immune system from dragon fruit is its antifungal and antibacterial qualities. ...
... The RDFPE of 1000 mg/kg BW was proved to be the optimum dose to restore spermatozoa viability and motility in hypercholesterolemia rats, similar to spermatozoa viability and motility after treatment with Simvastatin at a dose of 10 mg/kg BW. These results were similar to those of ethanolic extract of Hylocereus polyrhizus peel orally, which showed an increase in spermatozoa count, spermatozoa viability (Aziz and Noor, 2010), and spermatogenesis cells in rats induced by a high-fat diet (Cantika et al., 2019). ...
This study aims to determine the effect of red dragon (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit peel extract (RDFPE) on spermatozoa motility and viability of hypercholesterolemic rats (Rattus norvegicus) as a model. Twenty male rats were randomly divided into negative control (NC), positive control (PC), treatment 1 (T1), treatment 2 (T2), and treatment 3 (T3) groups. All rats were given 2 mL of high cholesterol feed orally every day for 28 days. On day-15, all rats were measured for their blood cholesterol levels, followed by treatment for 14 days. Rats in the NC, PC, T1, T2, and T3 groups were treated with 1% Na-CMC, Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW, and RDFPE of 500, 750, and 1000 mg/kg BW, respectively. On day-29, all rats were sacrificed to evaluate spermatozoa viability and motility. The results showed that spermatozoa viability and motility in the hypercholesterolemic rats (NC) group were the lowest (p <0.05) among the groups. Treatment of hypercholesterolemic rats with Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW (PC) group showed higher (p <0.05) spermatozoa viability and motility compared to the NC group. RDFPE dose of 1000 mg/kg BW (T3 group) resulted in higher (p <0.05) spermatozoa viability and motility compared to other RDFPE doses (T1 and T2) and the control (NC) groups, and it was similar (p >0.05) compared with the Simvastatin treated (PC) group. It could be concluded that the administration of 1000 mg/kg BW ethanolic extract of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel increased the viability and motility of spermatozoa of hypercholesterolemic rats (Rattus norvegicus) which were the same as the group of rats given Simvastatin 10 mg/kg BW.
... Ethanol 95% was used in the extraction process using Soxhlet apparatus. The extract was concentrated under reduced pressure and stored in a −20 • C freezer [61]. All the chemical reagents used were molecular biology grade. ...
There is a huge demand for novel anticancer agents with fewer side effects compared to current therapies. Pitaya, or dragon fruit, is a reservoir of potent anticancer compounds. This research aimed to analyze the phytochemical components of Hylocereus undatus pulp and peel extracts using LC-MS and GC-MS, and to investigate the in vitro effects of both extracts against cancer (breast, MCF-7, and colon, Caco-2) and normal (lung; WI-38 and breast; MCF-10A) cell proliferation using the MTT assay. The apoptosis potential of the anticancer effects was also evaluated using flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and Western blot. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the peel extract were significantly higher than those in the pulp extract. Compared to the flavonoid and phenolic acid standards, the LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of nine compounds, which were represented as 84.32 and 5.29 µg/g of the flavonoids and 686.11 and 148.72 µg/g of the phenolic acids in the peel and pulp extracts, respectively. Among the identified compounds, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and rutin were found at the highest concentration in both plant extracts. Both extracts displayed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and Caco-2 cancer cells after 48 h of treatment at IC50 values ranging from 14 to 53 μg/mL with high selective indices against normal WI-38 and MCF-10A cell lines. The increase in apoptosis was revealed by the overexpression of p53, BAX, and caspase-9 and the downregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 mRNA and protein expressions. The results indicate that H. undatus extracts can be a plant source for cancer therapy.
Smokers in Indonesia are ranked first in the world and the biggest cause of death. Free radicals contained in cigarette smoke cause condensation of the structure of the genetic material of sperm cells and lead to sperm cell death (apoptosis). The aim of the research was to determine the effect of cigarette exposure and its interactions on the quality of spermatozoa in experimental animals. This research is a laboratory experiment with a Completely Randomized Factorial Design. The samples in this study were 60 males of the Balb/C strain which were divided into 5 treatment groups. Each treatment group was given concentrations of red dragon fruit peel extract including 0%, vitamin C, 50 µg/mL, 500 µg/mL, and 5000 µg/mL and were exposed to cigarette smoke. Analysis of research results used the Two Way ANOVA test at a significance level of 0.05. The results of the study showed that there was an effect of exposure to cigarettes and administration of red dragon fruit peel extract on the sperm quality of mice. The highest exposure to cigarette smoke was given to red dragon fruit peel extract in terms of viability of 89% and morphology of 93.33%. Administration of red dragon fruit peel extract reduced the effect of exposure to cigarette smoke on the viability and morphology of mice.
Male infertility is becoming an important untouched area that needs immediate attention due to the increasing demand for breeding strategies, keeping in view the production and increasing per animal productivity. Many additives and antioxidants have been tried for enhancing the seminal quality, but still there is no evidence of full- proof effect on the conception rates in female animals. However, herbal preparations which promise multi-factorial effect in the breeding male animals can be explored, and in turn could prove to be a better tool to encounter the problem of male infertility holistically. The herbal preparations and its effect at the cellular, molecular and metabolic level still needs to be understood. However, the advantage of using the herbal ingredients could be, use of available local herbal ingredients which are more economical, affordable, can reduce the use of hormonal therapy, have less side effects on long term usage, and have greater acceptability by the farmers. These herbal ingredients will be useful in breeding programmes for improvement of germplasm in terms of productivity. The current review covers how the herbs can be utilized in improving the semen quality and quantity, enhancing function of sertoli and leydig cells, mating behaviour, fecundity, seminal antioxidant status, hypophyseal adrenal gonadal axis cum endocrine regulation, microcirculation of testes, as well as in semen cryopreservation and post thaw quality of different species.
Our review condensed evidence on the potential of medicinal plants to improve the reproductive performance of livestock. The success of any livestock farming operation is highly dependent on the reproductive performance of animals. However, infertility has limited the proficiency of livestock and resulted in economic losses. For centuries, farmers utilised medicinal plants extensively in managing reproductive disorders. These plants have few to no side effects, are cheap, easily accessible and readily available. Among others, the inclusion of Moringa olifera leaf extracts for 14 days at levels of 100–300 mg/kg body weight improved sperm characteristics. Zingiber officinale root extracts at levels of 500–1000 mg/kg body weight for 3 weeks increased sperm count, viability and mobility and testosterone. Furthermore, the increase in the volume of ejaculate and sperm concentration has been observed in sheep when Leucaena spp were added to their diets at 100–300 g/sheep/day for 60 days. However, there is little literature regarding the use of medicinal plants on ruminants, as the majority of studies have been laboratory-based and have used experimental animals, including rats and mice. Thus, future research is required through in vivo and in vitro studies to ascertain the efficacy of these medicinal plants in male ruminants.
The current study was conducted in the animal house of the Faculty of Education for Girls / University of Kufa, and the study aimed to know the effect of the nano-extract (zinc oxide) of the seeds of the Annona squamosa plant on the histological structure of the liver in male white rats with ages ranging (8-9) weeks and weights (230-244mg). Which were divided into three groups, each group included 10 rats. The first group is the control group and the second group is the group that was treated with the nano-extract of the seeds of the A.squamosa plant at a concentration (120 mg), the third group is the group that was treated with the nano-extract from the seeds of the A.squamosa plant at a concentration (200 mg/kg) per day for 30 and 45 days and after the end of the experiment The first (30) days, half of the rats were sacrificed and the tissue sections of the liver were made, and after the end of the second experiment (45) days, the other half was sacrificed and the tissue sections of the liver were made. The results of the histological study of the kidney of the white rats treated with the nano-extract of the seeds of the A.squamosa (120-200 mg/kg) for the periods 30 and 45 days showed the normal structure of Bowman's capsule and glomerulus and the absence of histopathological changes.
El objetivo fue evidenciar la distribución de pitahayas, reconocer formaciones vegetales y hospederos (forofitos), registrar usos, formas y preferencias de consumo, así como, describir los criterios de selección y la clasificación tradicional. Se estudió la problemática de productores junto con las vías de comercialización de las pitahayas. En 11 de 14 departamentos, se entrevistaron a 150 informantes entre 13 a 92 años y diferentes ocupaciones. Las preferencias de consumo se exploraron por coordenadas principales que permitió identificar patrones de consumo. Los resultados indican que en El Salvador existen las especies Selenicereus undatus (Haw.) D.R. Hunt y Selenicereus guatemalensis (Eichlam ex Weingart) D.R. Hunt, más una población que posiblemente representa un taxón no conocido. Las especies comparten hábitats similares, a diferencia de la población morfológicamente diferente, restringida a altitudes mayores en el occidente. El área de cultivo comercial en El Salvador fue de 8.2 ha. La pitahaya se consume frecuentemente como fruta. En la medicina tradicional se emplean para tratar 14 afecciones (12 en humanos y 2 en animales). La característica más importante para la mayoría de los informantes era el grado de dulzura del fruto. Hacia el occidente y centro del país los consumidores prefieren frutas dulces y de pulpa roja; en contraste en el oriente, las prefieren ácidas sin importar el color de la pulpa. Las plantas para cultivo y consumo se seleccionan con base al sabor y pulpa roja. La clasificación tradicional no es diferenciada, se basa en el origen de la planta (silvestre o cultivada), el sabor y color de la pulpa. Las preferencias de consumo formaron tres patrones que coinciden con rasgos culturales, étnicos y ambientales. Se presenta un manual breve para el cultivo de la pitahaya en El Salvador, basado en la experiencia de los productores entrevistados.
Septilin (Spt), a herbo-mineral formulation contains the extracts of Maharasanadi qoath, Tinospora cordifolia, Rubia cordifolia, Emblica officinalis, Moringa pterigosperma, Glycyrrhiza glabra and powders of Balsamodendron mukul and Shankha bhasma. In the present study, the anticlastogenic, antigenotoxic, antioxidant and histoprotective effects of Spt against cisplatin (Csp) induced toxicity in Swiss albino mice were investigated. The micronucleus (MN) test was used to assess the anticlastogenic potential of Spt (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg bw; p.o., 5 days) on somatic cells of mice. The sperm shape abnormality assay detects germinal nuclear damage, which induces spermatogenic dysfunction. Comet assay was employed to study the antigenotoxic potential of Spt on Csp (10 mg/kg bw; i.p.) induced DNA strand breaks in bone marrow cells of mice. The antioxidant enzyme activity of liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) and a biological antioxidant, reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured to determine its hepatoprotective property. The ability of Spt to protect against the histopathologic alterations accompanying Csp-induced liver and testicular injury was studied. The frequencies of MN induced by Csp in bone marrow and peripheral blood cells of mice were significantly decreased by the pre-treatment of Spt. Csp treatment increased the percentage of DNA strand breaks and depleted levels of SOD and GSH content along with histopathological changes. Supplementation of Spt attenuated the toxicity of Csp in liver and testes tissues possible via improvement of enzymatic and histological parameters toward normal. This study suggests that the protection offered by Spt against Csp-induced toxicity is partly related to the maintenance of the antioxidant system. Overall, this study shows the protective role of Spt against Csp-induced toxicity in somatic and male germinal cells of mice.
Ten-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected i.p. with cadmium chloride solution in a single dose of 0 or 1.0 mg/kg BW. At 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after injection, testes of the animals were collected, detunicated, and fixed in 10% formalin. Individual seminiferous tubules were isolated and the stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium were determined through use of transillumination under a stereomicroscope. The tubules were stained with rhodamine-phalloidin, mounted on glass slides, and examined via a confocal microscope. This cadmium dose did not cause visible vascular lesion in the testes. The cadmium treatment resulted in changes in the pattern produced by microfilaments in the basal region of Sertoli cells. The observed change in basal Sertoli cell microfilaments consisted of fragmentation of the microfilament bundles as compared to those in seminiferous tubules from control animals. This apparent lesion was first observed in stages VIII through XI at 24 h after the cadmium exposure. As the time after exposure increased, the lesion within a stage occurred with increasing severity, and later stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium were also affected. At 48 h after exposure, disorganization of microfilament bundles was seen in stages VIII through XIII/XIV. At 72 h after exposure, severe fragmentation of microfilament bundles was observed from stage VIII through stages II/III. The microfilament bundles in several stages prior to stage VIII remained unaffected. No change was observed in the microfilaments of peritubular cells. At 4 h after exposure, testes showed no change in the organization of microfilament bundles at the basal region of Sertoli cells or microfilaments in the peritubular cells. We conclude that a single cadmium chloride dose of 1 mg/kg results in the disruption of basal Sertoli cell microfilament bundles in the rat seminiferous epithelium, and that the action of cadmium is cell-specific and stage-specific.
The red pitaya, rich in micronutrients, has recently generated a great deal of consumer interest, therefore, this paper was designed to study the total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and antiproliferative activity of red pitaya on melanoma cells and to determine if it is a valuable source of antioxidants and an anticancer agent. The total phenolic contents of flesh (42.4±0.04mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100g of flesh fresh weight) and peel (39.7±5.39mg of GAE/100g of peel fresh weight) were similar. The flavonoid contents of flesh and peel did not vary much (7.21±0.02mg vs. 8.33±0.11mg of catechin equivalents/100g of flesh and peel matters). The concentrations of betacyanins expressed as betanin equivalents per 100g of fresh flesh and peel were 10.3±0.22 and 13.8±0.85mg, respectively. The antioxidant activity, measured by the DPPH method at EC50, was 22.4±0.29 and 118±4.12μmol vitamin C equivalents/g of flesh and peel dried extract; the values of EC50, determined by the ABTS+ approach, were 28.3±0.83 and 175±15.7μmol of trolox equivalents antioxidant capacity (TEAC)/g of flesh and peel dried extract, respectively. The antiproliferative study on B16F10 melanoma cells revealed that the peel (EC50 25.0μg of peel matter) component was a stronger inhibitor of the growth of B16F10 melanoma cancer cells than the flesh. The results indicated that the flesh and peel were both rich in polyphenols and were good sources of antioxidants. The red pitaya peel fulfilled its promise to inhibit the growth of melanoma cells.
The expanding research interest in the last two decades on reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, and male infertility has led to the development of various techniques for evaluating oxidative DNA damage in human spermatozoa. Measurement of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) offers a specific and quantitative biomarker on the extent of oxidative DNA damage caused by ROS in human sperm. The close correlations of 8-OHdG level with male fertility, sperm function and routine seminal parameters indicate the potential diagnostic value of this technique in clinical applications. On the other hand, single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE or comet assay) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay have also been demonstrated to be sensitive, and reliable methods for measuring DNA strand breaks in human spermatozoa. As certain technical limitations were inherent in each of these tests, it is believed that a combination of these assays will offer more comprehensive information for a better understanding of oxidative DNA damage and its biological significance in sperm function and male infertility.
Treatment of rats with a single carcinogenic dose of CdCl2 (i.e., 30 mumol/kg) caused severe hemorrhagic damage in the testis within the first 12 h after the metal. Subsequently, atrophy with calcification developed in the next 2-3 mo. Atrophied tissues regenerated during the 1 yr after exposure. Twelve hours after exposure to the Cd treatment, lipid peroxidation levels, Fe content, and cellular production of H2O2 were remarkably elevated in testicular Leydig cells, the target cell population for Cd carcinogenesis. At the same time, glutathione peroxidase activity rose, glutathione reductase and catalase activities were reduced, and superoxide dismutase activity was unchanged. Xanthine oxidase activity in Leydig cells was also elevated at 6 and 9 h after the Cd treatment. Reduced glutathione in testes was decreased and oxidized glutathione was increased 12 h after exposure to the metal. These facts suggest that the carcinogenic doses of Cd induced oxidative stress while compromising cellular defense mechanisms against such stress. Therefore, active oxygen species such as H2O2 may have an important role in the initiation of carcinogenesis within the target cell population.
Spontaneous lipid peroxidation in washed human spermatozoa was induced by aerobic incubation at 32 C and measured by malonaldehyde production; loss of motility during the incubation was determined simultaneously. Malonaldehyde production at the point of complete loss of motility, defined as the lipoperoxidative lethal endpoint (LLE), was 0.10 +/- 0.03 nmol/10(8) cells (mean +/- SD, n = 40), and was independent of the time to complete loss of motility. Human spermatozoa produced both H2O2 and O2-. during aerobic incubation. Inhibition of superoxide dismutase in these cells with KCN showed that all the H2O2 production is due to action of the dismutase. The superoxide dismutase activity of individual human sperm samples varied between 1 and 10 U/10(8) cells, variations between samples from a single donor being nearly as great as those between different donors. The time to complete motility loss (tL) showed equal variation of 1 to 10 hours among samples. The rate of spontaneous lipid peroxidation, calculated as LLE/tL, for a given sperm sample and the superoxide dismutase activity of the same sample, determined prior to aerobic incubation, gave a good linear correlation (r = 0.97). Glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione were found to be present in human spermatozoa, but showed little variation among samples. These results suggest that superoxide dismutase plays the major role in protecting human spermatozoa against lipid peroxidation. In addition, the superoxide dismutase activity of a fresh sperm sample appears to be a good predictor of the lifetime (up to the complete loss of motility) of that particular sample, and so may prove useful in semen analysis.
The activity of the enzymes involved in the antioxidant defence--superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reductase (GR), S-transferase (GST)--as well as the glutathione (GSH) levels were measured in different rat testicular cell populations. A differential distribution of these components among testicular cell types was clearly observed. Sertoli and peritubular cells had elevated SOD and GSH-dependent enzyme activities associated with a high GSH content. Compared with the somatic cells, pachytene spermatocytes (PS) and round spermatids (RS) presented a different antioxidant system characterized by higher SOD activity and GSH content associated with very low GSH-dependent enzyme activity. Spermatozoa exhibited the same enzymatic system as PS and RS but were devoid of GSH. Interstitial tissue displayed high GSH content, moderate SOD and GSH-related enzyme activity except for GPx which was very elevated. It is concluded that the different categories of testicular cells probably display a highly variable susceptibility to oxidative stress.
Ten-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected i.p. with cadmium chloride solution in a single dose of 0 or 1.0 mg/kg BW. At 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after injection, testes of the animals were collected, detunicated, and fixed in 10% formalin. Individual seminiferous tubules were isolated and the stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium were determined through use of transillumination under a stereomicroscope. The tubules were stained with rhodamine-phalloidin, mounted on glass slides, and examined via a confocal microscope. This cadmium dose did not cause visible vascular lesion in the testes. The cadmium treatment resulted in changes in the pattern produced by microfilaments in the basal region of Sertoli cells. The observed change in basal Sertoli cell microfilaments consisted of fragmentation of the microfilament bundles as compared to those in seminiferous tubules from control animals. This apparent lesion was first observed in stages VIII through XI at 24 h after the cadmium exposure. As the time after exposure increased, the lesion within a stage occurred with increasing severity, and later stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium were also affected. At 48 h after exposure, disorganization of microfilament bundles was seen in stages VIII through XIII/XIV. At 72 h after exposure, severe fragmentation of microfilament bundles was observed from stage VIII through stages II/III. The microfilament bundles in several stages prior to stage VIII remained unaffected. No change was observed in the microfilaments of peritubular cells. At 4 h after exposure, testes showed no change in the organization of microfilament bundles at the basal region of Sertoli cells or microfilaments in the peritubular cells. We conclude that a single cadmium chloride dose of 1 mg/kg results in the disruption of basal Sertoli cell microfilament bundles in the rat seminiferous epithelium, and that the action of cadmium is cell-specific and stage-specific.
Defective sperm function is the most common cause of infertility, and until recently, it was difficult to evaluate and treat. Part of this difficulty was due to our incomplete understanding of the factors contributing to normal and abnormal sperm function leading to male infertility. Mammalian spermatozoa membranes are rich in high unsaturated fatty acids and are sensitive to oxygen induced damage mediated by lipid peroxidation. Limited endogenous mechanisms exist to reverse these damages. The excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by abnormal spermatozoa and by contaminating leukocytes (leukocytospermia) has been identified as one of the few defined etiologies for male infertility. In a normal situation, the seminal plasma contains antioxidant mechanisms which are likely to quench these ROS and protect against any likely damage to spermatozoa. However, during genitourinary infection/inflammation these antioxidant mechanisms may downplay and create a situation called oxidative stress. In addition, aging and environmental toxicants are also likely to further induce this oxidative stress. Assessment of such oxidative stress status (OSS) may help in the medical treatment of this male factor infertility by suitable antioxidants.
Determination of profiles and total contents of betacyanins in cactus fruits of Hylocereus species using chromatographic and spectrophotometric method is described. The investigated species were H. polyrhizus, H. purpusii, H. costaricensis, H. sp. 487 (all red-flesh species and hybrids made among them), and the white- or red-flesh species H. undatus. Hybrids included hybrid 1 (H. undatus white-flesh clone and H. sp. 487), hybrid 35 (H. sp. 487 and H. polyrhizus), and the reciprocal hybrid hybrid 95 (H. polyrhizus and H. sp. 487). Fruits of H. polyrhizus exhibited the highest relative concentration (expressed as percentage of the total HPLC peak area) of hylocerenin, a recently discovered pigment, and a high relative concentration of phyllocactin. Hylocerenin and isohylocerenin, present in fruits at relative concentrations of 11.7 and 5.8%, respectively, are probably responsible for the fluorescent color of the fruit pulp. H. costaricensis fruits have a much higher content of phyllocactin (63.9%), which is almost 4 times higher than the betanin content. These differences in pigment concentrations might explain the differences in red hues of the flesh of these fruits.