A morphological investigation of the possible effects of silymarin on cisplatin-induced testes damage in rats

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the possible protective effects of silymarin in cisplatin-induced testicular damage by morphological and biochemical methods. Material and Methods: Male Wistar albino rats weighing an average of 300/350 g were used in our study. There were 10 rats in each group. CON (10): Control group; The rats in this group were not treated. SM200 (10): Safety group (High dose); The rats in this group were given 200mg/kg/day silymarin by oral gavage for 3 days starting from day 0. Silymarin was given as 100mg/kg/day in 2 doses every 12 hours. CIS (10): Cisplatin group; Rats in this group were given a single dose of 7mg/kg/day cisplatin intraperitoneally and these rats were sacrificed under anesthesia 72 hours after cisplatin administration. CIS+SM50 (10): Low dose treatment group; The rats in this group were given 25mg/kg/day silymarin by oral gavage on day 0 and 7mg/kg/day cisplatin was administered intraperitoneally 2 hours later. 12 hours after the first dose of silymarin was given, 25mg/kg/day silymarin was given again by oral gavage, and a total of 50mg/kg/day silymarin was given by oral gavage, twice a day for a total of 3 days (every 12 hours). On the 3rd day of the treatment, the rats were sacrificed under anesthesia. CIS+SM200 (10): High-dose treatment group; The rats in this group were given 100mg/kg/day silymarin by oral gavage on day 0 and 7mg/kg/day cisplatin was administered intraperitoneally 2 hours later. 12 hours after the first dose of silymarin was given, 100 mg/kg/day silymarin was given again by oral gavage, and a total of 200 mg/kg/day silymarin was given by oral gavage, twice a day for a total of 3 days (every 12 hours). On the 3rd day of the treatment, the rats were sacrificed under anesthesia. After the rats were sacrificed under ketamine+xylazine anesthesia, testicular tissues were removed and their blood was taken. Right testis tissues were taken for histological examinations. Results: According to the results of the analysis, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of animal weight, testicular weight, testicular longitudinal and transverse diameter measurements, and inhibin B levels. There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of tubulus seminiferi contorti diameter and germinal epithelial thickness, basal layer thickness, basal lamina thickness, tunica albuginea thickness, arterial diameter, peritubular atrophy rate values, sperm count, sperm dead-live ratio and sperm morphology, TAS, TOS, Inhibin A levels. Conclusion: Silymarin administration had a positive effect in rats with testicular damage with cisplatin. Key words: Cisplatin, Silymarin, Rat, Testis, Morphology.