EFFECT OF DIETARY CURCUMIN ON OXIDANT-ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN TESTIS TISSUES OF RATS FED A HIGH-FAT DIET

Abstract

Objective: High fat diet (HFD) induced oxidative stress is known to adversely affect testicular functions. Curcumin, which is an active ingredient of turmeric spice, has been shown to reduce lipid peroxidation and stimulate cellular antioxidant enzymes. the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of dietary curcumin on the testicular oxidant-antioxidant status in rats fed on a HFD. Material and Method: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups. Group 1 was fed with a control diet (10% of total calories from fat). Group 2 was fed with a HFD (60% of total calories from fat). Groups 3 and 4 received a HFD and a control diet with curcumin (1g/kg diet; w/w) respectively for 16 weeks. the testis tissue was homogenized and divided into postmitochondrial and mitochondrial fractions and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured with the fluorometric method. the malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione transferase (GST) activities were measured with spectrophotometric methods. Results: HFD supplementation increased postmitochondrial and mitochondrial MDA levels and decreased cytosolic GSH levels in testis. MDA levels decreased with curcumin supplementation. Moreover, GSH levels and GST activity increased. However, curcumin supplementation alone did not affect oxidant-antioxidant status. ROS levels, SOD and GPx activities did not change significantly between the groups. Conclusion: Our data has shown that curcumin supplementation with HFD may prevent testicular oxidant damage. However, further studies are needed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms.