The effect of chrysin on testicular injury induced by cisplatin in rats

Although cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent, its use is limited, especially because it causes nephrotoxicity and testicular damage. Today, the most common treatment method to reduce tissue damage caused by the use of chemotherapeutics is the use of antioxidant substances. Chrysin has an elimination effect on free radicals through the hydroxyl groups in its structure and shows high antioxidant properties. Our study aims to investigate the effect of chrysin against cisplatin-induced testicular damage. In our study, 40 male rats were used. Group 1 (Control group): No treatment was applied. Group 2 Corn oil (Solvent): Corn oil was administered orally at a dose of 1 ml every day for a 7-day experimental period. Group 3 (Cisplatin): On the first day of the experiment, a single dose of 7 mg/kg cisplatin was administered intraperitoneally. Group 4 (Chrysin): 50 mg/kg Chrysin dissolved in corn oil will be administered orally for a total of 9 days. Group 5 (Cisplatin + Chrysin): 7 mg/kg cisplatin was administered on the first day of the experiment and 50 mg/kg Chrysin was administered orally for a total of 9 days, starting 2 days before the experiment. The testicular tissues obtained after sacrification were fixed in 10% formaldehyde and tissue follow-up was performed. H&E staining was used for histopathologic examination and Johnsen scoring was used for testicular evaluation. In order to evaluate apoptosis, a staining based on Caspase-3 primer was performed using immunohistochemical methods.Motility analysis was performed on the semen samples obtained. In addition, biochemical parameters of thiol-disulfide homeostasis were measured in serum samples. All results were evaluated semiquantitatively. As a result, this study observed the positive effects of Chrysin antioxidant on the damage caused by Cisplatin in the testicular tissue. The effect of Chrysin antioxidant was supported by histological examinations, motility and biochemical analyses and recovery was achieved (p<0.001). These findings indicate that Chrysin may be a potential treatment option in alleviating cisplatin-induced testicular damage and supporting the spermatogenesis process. In the future, clinical and preclinical studies should be conducted to better understand the effectiveness of Chrysin with different dosages and treatment durations.