Phytotherapy in reducing glycemic index and testicular oxidative stress resulting from induced diabetes: a review

Abstract Oxidative stress plays a main role in the development of diabetes complications. The impairment of gonadal antioxidant potential and endocrine disturbance in diabetic males causes testicular damage and failure in sperm production. Plants have been widely used to control diabetes due their hypoglycemic and antioxidant potential, contributing towards the recovery of testicular function. Current study comprises a review of the literature on the main medicinal plants used in the recovery of testicular oxidative damage in animals with experimental diabetes. Eighteen plant species in the nineteen studies selected from the search strategy were evaluated. Plant extracts were evaluated according to their effects on blood glucose and insulin levels, antioxidant enzymes and oxidant levels, lipid peroxidation, total protein, testosterone levels, gonadosomatic index, diameter of seminiferous tubules, seminiferous epithelium height and integrity, number of germ cells at stage VII and apoptosis in the seminiferous epithelium, sperm production, motility, viability and morphology. After the analysis of the studies, it was observed that plant species, used alone or in combination, may control testicular oxidative damage triggered by diabetes. The antioxidant potential varies among species, with some plants proving to have a better performance in the recovery of reproduction parameters than others.摘要 氧化应激（Oxidative Stress）在糖尿病并发症的发生发展中占据主导地位。糖尿病雄性个体的性腺抗氧化潜能受损与内分泌紊乱，可引发睾丸损伤及精子生成障碍。植物因兼具降血糖与抗氧化潜能，被广泛用于糖尿病的管控，且有助于睾丸功能的恢复。本研究针对实验性糖尿病动物的睾丸氧化损伤修复中所使用的主要药用植物展开文献综述。从检索策略筛选出的19项研究中共纳入18种植物，并对其提取物进行了评估。评估指标涵盖：血糖与胰岛素水平、抗氧化酶及氧化产物水平、脂质过氧化（Lipid Peroxidation）程度、总蛋白含量、睾酮（Testosterone）水平、性腺指数（Gonadosomatic Index）、生精小管（Seminiferous Tubules）直径、生精上皮（Seminiferous Epithelium）高度与完整性、第VII期生殖细胞数量、生精上皮细胞凋亡（Apoptosis）情况、精子生成量、活力、存活率及形态。经对纳入研究的分析可知，单独或联合使用的植物物种可缓解糖尿病诱发的睾丸氧化损伤。不同植物的抗氧化潜能存在差异，部分植物在生殖相关参数的修复方面表现优于其他物种。