P-25: Royal Jelly Protects from The Paclitaxel-Induced Damages on Sperm Quality in Rats

Background: Paclitaxel (Taxol, TXL) is a chemotherapy agent which widely used in the treatment of tumors, such as lung cancer, breast and prostatic cancer. Previous reports indicate that taxol damages mainly dividing cells (spermatogonias and spermatocytes) and postmeiotic epitheliocytes (spermatids and spermatozoa). The toxic effect of the drug on microtubules underlies its antiproliferative effect. The present study aimed to clarify the protective effects of royal jelly (RJ: a secretion of the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honeybees) on taxol-induced damages on sperm quality in male rats. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n=8), including: control (C), TXL-treated (TXL, 7.5 mg/kg, i.p. weekly for 4 weeks), TXL- and RJ -treated and RJ -treated animals (RJ, 100 mg/kg, orally). Those groups which received either compounds, were subgrouped based on the various doses of RJ (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg, daily and orally for 4 weeks). The serum level of hepatic functional enzymes and sperm quality were evaluated. The sperm quality was evaluated by means of sperm viability, motility and total count assays.Results: Co-administration of RJ with TXL attenuated the TXL-elevated alkaline phosphatase activity and recovered the TXL-decreased body weight gain, significantly (p<0.05). Sperm viability was reduced by 3- fold in TXL-treated group while the RJ treatment resulted in a significant improvement (86.8 ± 4.3% control group, 24.6 ± 7.1% TXL-treated group and 80.5 ± 5.1% RJ received animals at 150 mg/kg dose level). Additionally, the TXL-reduced sperm motility was improved in the animals which were treated with 100 and 150 mg/kg RJ. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the TXL-induced damages on sperm quality could be prevented by RJ. Therefore, RJ could be considered as a protective agent for attenuation of the chemotherapy-induced damages in the liver and sperm quality.