Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Department of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah City, Iraq.
Abstract
Shilajit is one of a traditional Ayurvedic remedy to determine its potential effects on male reproductive health. The research investigated how shilajit exposure influenced semen quality and reproductive performance in male rats that had reached puberty. In this study forty mature male Wistar rats aged 60 days old were split into four groups (10 each) for 60 days, which consisted of a control group who received distilled water and three treatment groups which received shilajit at 100 mg/kg/day, cadmium chloride at 5 mg/kg/day, and a combination of both 100 mg/kg/day shilajit and 5 mg/kg/day cadmium chloride at respectively. Treatments were administered orally for 60 days. The evaluation of semen quality parameters such as sperm motility and count along with sperm viability and abnormalities was performed using collected epididymal tail samples. Rats treated with shilajit showed substantial enhancements in sperm viability, motility, and count while experiencing fewer sperm abnormalities when compared to the control group. The administration of cadmium chloride reduced semen quality parameters. The last treatment group receiving both shilajit and cadmium chloride experienced some reduction in cadmium toxicity yet did not reach the levels of improvement seen in the group treated with shilajit alone. Supplementation with shilajit leads to better semen quality and reproductive performance in male rats because of its antioxidant and adaptogenic properties. This indicates that shilajit holds potential as a therapeutic agent for male fertility enhancement under environmental and chemical stress conditions.
Keywords
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- Elahi S, Mohamadi Sani A, Sarabi-Jamab M. Physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics of two types of mumies (shilajit). J Food Meas Charact. 2024;1-10.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-024-02481-2
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- Wilson E, Rajamanickam GV, Dubey GP, et al. Review on shilajit used in traditional Indian medicine. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011;136(1):1-9.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.033
- Garedew A, Feist M, Schmolz E, Lamprecht I. Thermal analysis of mumiyo, the legendary folk remedy from the Himalaya region. Thermochim Acta. 2004;417(2):301-9.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2003.09.034
- Stohs SJ. Safety and efficacy of shilajit (mumie, moomiyo). Phytother Res. 2014;28(4):475-9.https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.5018
- Thompson J, Bannigan J. Cadmium: toxic effects on the reproductive system and the embryo. Reprod Toxicol. 2008;25(3):304-15https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2008.02.001
- Satarug S, Moore MR. Adverse health effects of chronic exposure to low-level cadmium in foodstuffs and cigarette smoke. Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112(10):1099-103.https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.6751
- Agarwal A, Mulgund A, Hamada A, Chyatte MR. A unique view on male infertility around the globe. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2015;13:37.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-015-0032-1
- Bhavsar SK, Thaker AM, Malik JK. Shilajit. In: Nutraceuticals. Academic Press; 2016:707-16.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802147-7.00051-6
- Surapaneni DK, Adapa SR, Preeti K, et al. Shilajit attenuates behavioral symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome by modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and mitochondrial bioenergetics in rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012;143(1):91-9.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2012.06.002
- Elahi S, Mohamadi Sani A, Sarabi-Jamab M. Physicochemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics of two types of mumies (shilajit). J Food Meas Charact. 2024;1-10.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-024-02481-2
- Stohs SJ, Ray SD, Anderson ML. Experimental and clinical pharmacology of Shilajit, a purified exudate from high-altitude rocks. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:821630.
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