Comparative effect of dietary fortification of raw and roasted seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L) on fertility biomolecules in cisplatin-induced spermatotoxic rats

Cisplatin is a known chemotherapeutic/anticancer drug, reported to induce oxidative stress, a major risk factor in male infertility. However, studies have shown that dietary pattern plays a pivotal role in the protection of chemotherapy-induced testicular damage, and till date no report on the comparative effect of raw and roasted pumpkin seeds against chemotherapy-induced male infertility and reproductive dysfunction. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate how raw and roasted pumpkin seed enriched diets affect reproductive function biomarkers in adult male Wistar rats that had been exposed to a single dose (7 mgkg -1 i.p) of cisplatin-induced testicular damage. Rats were fed with basal diets (CTRL), cisplatin-induced rats fed with basal diet (CIS); cisplatin-induced rats fed diet supplemented with raw (5 % and 10 %) and cisplatin-induced rats fed roasted (5 % and 10 %) pumpkin seeds for 14 days. A single administration of cisplatin was done 14th day after treatment with supplemented diet, and the rats were euthanized 24 h later for the evaluation of reproductive hormones, epidydimal sperm parameters, nitric oxide level, testicular and epididymal total thiol level and non-protein thiol level, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase and steroidogenic enzymes activities. Reproductive hormones, epidydimal sperm parameters, and both testicular and epididymal levels of nitric oxide, total thiol and non-protein thiol, as well as glutathione-S-transferase, catalase and steroidogenic enzyme activities were significantly elevated ( p < 0.05), with a reduction in arginase activity, and levels of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species in testes and epididymis of cisplatin- spermatotoxic rats pre-fed with pumpkin seed in comparison with untreated cisplatin-induced testicular damage rats. Testes architectures were efficiently restored in cisplatin-intoxicated rats pre-fed with pumpkin seed. In the immunohistochemistry assay, there were fewer caspase-3 expressions in cisplatin-intoxicated rats pre-fed with roasted pumpkin seed than in those pre-treated with raw pumpkin seed and untreated cisplatin-intoxicated group. The ameliorative effects of raw and roasted pumpkin seeds on various biochemical parameters associated with fertility may suggest its role in enhancing male fertility in rats exposed to cisplatin. However, the roasted pumpkin seeds was noted to possess more ameliorative effect than raw seed.