Enhanced activities of reproductive system in male rat treated with male silkworm pupae extract |
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| Authors: | Mu‐Gil Kwon Deuk‐Su Kim Jeong‐Hwan Lee Se‐Ra Park Junsik Ahn Joo‐Sung Kim Kinarm Ko Sungsu Park Young‐Sun Kang Young‐Kug Choo Kisung Ko |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biological Science, College of Natural Sciences, Wonkwang University, , Iksan, Korea;2. Department of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine, Chung‐Ang University, , Seoul, Korea;3. Korea Food Research Institute, , Gyeong‐Gi‐Do, Korea;4. Center for Stem Cell Research, SMART Institute of Advanced Biomedical Science, Konkuk University, , Seoul, Korea;5. Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, , Seoul, Korea;6. Department of Chemistry and Nano Sciences, Ewha Womans University, , Seoul, Korea;7. Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, , Singapore;8. Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, , Seoul, Korea |
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| Abstract: | A male silkworm pupae extract with herbal mixtures such as Rubus coreanus Miquel, Chinese matrimony vine Acanthopanax senticosus and tocopherol can be effectively used to recover or boost stamina. In this study, the effect of the male silkworm pupae extract on the reproductive system of Sprague–Dawley male rats was investigated. No clinical symptoms, and no dying or dead animals were found among experimental male silkworm larvae extract, male silkworm pupae extract and control rat groups during the study. No significant differences were found in body weights, feed or water consumption, or macroscopic examination among the three groups. No lesion was found upon necropsy. However, sperm in the group treated with male silkworm pupae extract were significantly more active than sperm in the control group. Sperm counts in both male groups treated with male silkworm larvae extract and male silkworm pupae extract were significantly higher than sperm counts in the control group. Analysis of phospholipid–hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) gene expression showed that the male silkworm pupae extract increased expression in testes by 26.7%. This study shows that the male silkworm pupae extract has potential to be used to enhance the function of the human reproductive system. |
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| Keywords: | Nuegra phospholipid– hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase silkworm pupae extract sperm |
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