Vet World Vol.15 November-2022 Article-3
Research Article
Veterinary World, 15(11): 2525-2534
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2525-2534
Aqueous extract of bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) ameliorates testicular toxicity induced by aluminum chloride in rats
2. Phytomedicine and Phytochemistry Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa.
Background and Aim: Human exposure to aluminum is inevitable, and one of the most adverse health effects of aluminum is a decrease in male fertility rates. Therefore, this study investigated the ameliorative effects of an aqueous extract from Laurus nobilis-bay leaf (BL) on aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced testicular toxicity in rats.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 6, each group): The control (group 1) received normal saline; Group 2 animals were intraperitoneally administered with 30 mg/kg body weight (BW) AlCl3; and Groups 3 and 4 were co-administered AlCl3 with 125 or 250 mg/kg BW of BL extract, respectively, for 21 days. Testes, epididymis, and blood samples were collected. Testicular plasma enzyme activity was measured using a spectrophotometric assay, while concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.
Results: There was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in testicular enzyme activity in the group treated with AlCl3. However, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in testicular enzyme activity in groups co-administered AlCl3 and BL extract as compared with that in control. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in testicular nitrite concentration in the AlCl3-treated group, whereas the administration of BL extract significantly (p < 0.05) decreased nitrite concentration in Groups 3 and 4. Furthermore, the administration of BL extracts increased sperm count and improved the morphology of the testes in AlCl3-treated rats. Flavonoids, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, tannin, glycosides, saponin, anthraquinones, and steroids were identified in BL extract, with alkaloids and glycosides being the most abundant.
Conclusion: Aqueous extract from BL ameliorated the toxic effect of AlCl3 and exhibited anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting nitrite production while improving sperm count and morphology in AlCl3-treated rats. The bioactivity of the extract may be attributed to the presence of a wide range of phytochemicals. Therefore, BL aqueous extract could be a promising source of novel compounds with male fertility-promoting and anti-inflammatory properties. Keywords: anti-inflammatory property, reproductive toxicology, sperm parameters, spices, testicular enzymes.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory property, reproductive toxicology, sperm parameters, spices, testicular enzymes.
How to cite this article: Falade AO, Adewole KE, Adekola AO, Ikokoh HA, Okaiyeto K, and Oguntibeju OO (2022) Aqueous extract of bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) ameliorates testicular toxicity induced by aluminum chloride in rats, Veterinary World, 15(11): 2525–2534.
Received: 20-05-2022 Accepted: 23-09-2022 Published online: 09-11-2022
Corresponding author: Ayodeji O. Falade E-mail: ayodeji.falade@yahoo.com
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2525-2534
Copyright: Falade, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.