Investigating the effect of safranal on Bax and Bcl2 and oxidative stress levels in testis tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

One of the most common endocrine diseases is type 1 diabetes, which causes oxidative stress in testis tissue. Today, in the treatment of diabetes, the tendency toward herbal medicines is increasing day by day. This study aimed to investigate the effects of safranal on Bax and Bcl2 and anti-oxidant levels of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

In this experimental study, 24 rats were divided into 4 groups: control, non-treated diabetic and 2 safranal-treated diabetic groups (50, 100 mg/ml, 25 days intraperitoneal injection). The diabetic groups were diabetic with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at a concentration of 55 mg/kg body weight of the mouse. On day 25, the testicles were exited to evaluate antioxidant enzymes and Bax and Bcl2. The results were analyzed by using SPSS 20 software, one-way ANOVA and LSD tests

The level of pro-apoptotic Bax and malondialdehyde level in the treated group with a concentration of 100 mg/ml of safranal was significantly reduced compared to the treatment group with a concentration of 50 mg/ml of safranal and control group. However, the level of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 and glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes in the treated group with a concentration of 100 mg/ml of safranal was significantly increased compared to the treatment group with a concentration of 50 mg/ml of safranal and control group (P<0.05); which indicates the effect of safranal concentration. Also, safranal significantly reduced the level of glucose in diabetic rats.

Safranal can improve the antioxidant activity and decrease the damage induced by diabetes in the testis tissue of diabetic rats.