Obesity is a debilitating disorder with a variety of problems including oxidative stress,
inflammation, and apoptosis. The aim of our study was to investigate the therapeutic role of
bee bread on oxidative stress, apoptosis, and
inflammation in the testis of obese rats. Thirty-two adult male Sprague Dawley rats, with weights between 230-300 g, were distributed into four groups (n = 8/group), namely normal control (C), obese (Ob), obese + BB or obese + OR [high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks then HFD plus
bee bread or
orlistat for another 6 weeks] groups.
Bee bread (0.5 g/kg) or
orlistat (10 mg/kg/day) was diluted with distilled water and administered daily for 6 weeks by oral gavage. There were significant decreases in the activities of
antioxidant enzymes [
glutathione-S-transferase (GST),
superoxide dismutase (SOD),
glutathione peroxidase (GPx),
catalase (CAT),
glutathione reductase (GR)],
glutathione (GSH)] and total
antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels and
mRNA expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2),
superoxide dismutase (Sod),
catalase (Cat) and
glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) in the obese group relative to the control group. Meanwhile, the
mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory markers, namely:
inducible nitric oxide synthase (Inos),
nuclear factor kappa B (Nf-κβ), tumour necrotic factor α (Tnf-α) and
interleukin 1β (Il-1β) were significantly increased while
interleukin (Il-10) was decreased in the obese group relative to the control group. Further,
proliferating cell nuclear antigen (
PCNA) immunoexpressions decreased while cleaved
caspase-3 immunohistochemical staining increased significantly in the obese group, in addition to increases in the
mRNA levels of p53, Bax, Caspases-8, 9 and 3, relative to the control group. Treatment with
bee bread showed increases in
antioxidant enzymes and
PCNA immunoexpression, as well as decreases in
inflammation and apoptosis markers in the testes. This study has shown that
bee bread has
therapeutic effects against oxidative stress,
inflammation, apoptosis in the testis of HFD-induced obese male rats, thereby suggesting its role as a natural supplement capable of treating
obesity-induced male reproductive impairment.