Protective effect of Caralluma fimbriata against high-fat diet induced testicular oxidative stress in rats.

High-fat diet (HFD) promotes the oxidative stress formation, which in turn has hazardous effects on reproductive system and fertility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of Caralluma fimbriata on high-fat diet-induced oxidative stress in the testis of rat. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: Control (C), Control treated with CFE (C+ CFE), High fat diet fed (HFD), High fat diet fed treated with CFE (HFD+CFE) and High fat diet fed treated with Metformin (HFD+Met). CFE was orally administered (200mg/kg body weight) for 90days to groups-C+CFE and HFD+CFE rats. The effects of HF-diet on the reproductive organs were determined by measuring relative and absolute testes and epididymal fat pads weights. Regarding testes antioxidant status, high-fat fed rats showed higher levels of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, polyol pathway enzymes and lower GSH levels and lower activities of antioxidants, while CFE treatment prevented all these observed abnormalities. The present study clearly indicates that CFE offers a significant protection against HF-diet induced testicular oxidative stress in rats.