Changes in Sertoli cells of albino rats induced by Azadirachta indica A. Juss leaves.

Azadirachta indica leaf powder, 0.05 mg testosterone, or combined leaf powder + testosterone was administered for 48 days to different groups of 3-month-old albino rats. Twenty-four hours after the final dose, the treated animals received mild ether anesthesia and the testes were dissected out and processed for light and electron microscope studies. Animals treated with A. indica leaf powder showed damaged tubules and exhibited an abundance of vacuoles, including inter-cellular spaces and intra-epithelial vacuoles of varying size in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells. Upon treatment with A. indica leaf powder, bridges between Sertoli cells-Sertoli cells and Sertoli cell-germ cells were disturbed, coupled with changes in the Sertoli cells and cytoplasm along with its organelles. We suggest that the anti-androgenic property of A. indica leaves probably affects Sertoli cells, followed by the degeneration of germ cells, resulting in exfoliation.