The investigation of effects of eletteria cardamomum on the apoptotic alterations induced by ethanol in rat testes

Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is known as a testicular toxin. Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom) known as kakule in our country and seeds of it are used as a herbal spice. Cardamom has benefical effects on tissues such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.The aim of this study was to investigate preventive effects of Cardamom on testicular damage induced with ethanol. Twenty-one adult male Wistar rats were used in the study. The rats were divided into 3 groups, saline-treated group, ethanol(3 g/kg)-treated group, ethanol (3 g/kg)-and Cardamom (500 µL/kg)-treated group. Ethanol was administrated daily (in 5ml saline) intraperitoneally for 10 days, and the same volume of saline was administrated for the controls. Cardamom was administrated orally for 10 days. At the end of the experiment, testes tissues collected from the animals were processed by using routine paraffin techniques. The sections of testes were stained by histological dying and TUNEL method.Peritubular vascular congestion, degeneration in seminiferous tubules, invaginations of tubular basement membrane and sloughing of immature germinal cells to the lumen were observed in ethanol-treated group compared to the controls. Althought peritubular vascular congestion and invaginations of tubular basement membrane were improved, degeneration in seminiferous tubules and sloughing of immature germinal cells to the lumen were not significant improvement in Ethanol and Cardamom treated group compared to the controls.TUNEL-positive cells were markedly increased in the seminiferous tubules in ethanol-treated group compared to the controls. TUNEL-positive cells were decreased in the seminiferous tubules in Cardamom treated group compared to the ethanol-treated group.In conclusion, it was determined that Cardamom had protective positive effects on apoptotic cell increment in seminiferous tubules induced by ethanol.Key Words: Ethanol, Testis, Cardamom, Apoptosis