Testicular cell apoptosis is associated with impaired spermatogenesis. It has been reported that Asiatic acid (AA) may suppress apoptosis. However, little is known about the effect of AA on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced impairment of spermatogenesis. The aim of the present study was to determine whether AA protects against HFD-induced impairment of spermatogenesis. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: Control group, HFD group and AA (50 mg/kg) + HFD group. Rats fed an HFD were orally administered with AA (50 mg/kg) daily for 12 weeks, and blood samples, testis and epididymis were harvested for further analysis. Sex hormones were detected and hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to examine the morphological changes of the testis. Semen samples were collected to evaluate sperm quality and apoptosis was determined. The results indicate that AA treatment significantly increased testis weight, testis/body weight, spermatogonia, Leydig cells and Sertoli cells in the testis of obese mice (P<0.05). AA treatment also attenuated HFD-induced histological change. AA treatment prevented HFD-induced decrease of sex hormones and the quality of semen samples (P<0.05). Furthermore, HFD-induced apoptosis was significantly attenuated by AA treatment (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results suggest that AA is able to ameliorate HFD-induced impaired spermatogenesis via inhibiting apoptosis in Sprague-Dawley rats. AA may have therapeutic value in the treatment of obesity-related impairment of spermatogenesis.
Keywords: apoptosis; asiatic acid; high-fat diet; spermatogenesis; testis.