Protective effect of curcumin and vitamin C each alone and in combination on cisplatin-induced sperm abnormalities in male albino rats

Infertility is a major concern for young men of reproductive age under-going chemotherapy. Unfortunately, chemotherapeutic treatment for neoplastic diseases commonly impairs fertility either temporally or permanently. In general, chemotherapeutic agents in cancer treatments target all rapidly growing healthy cells, such as those of reproductive system in addition to tumor tissues and it therefore results in impairment of spermatogenesis leading to abnormalities in sperm morphology in cancer survivors. Consequently, antioxidants have been shown to protect nonmalignant cells and organs against damage by chemotherapeutic agents. Hence the present study was designed to evaluate the possible ameliorative role of curcumin or vitamin C alone and their combination in alleviating the toxicity of cisplatin on sperm morphology when given to normal albino rats.

The results of the present investigation concluded that the combination between curcumin and vitamin C in cisplatin treatment afforded the best ameliorative effect on cisplatin induced sperm shape abnormalities. This may be due to the synergistic effect between curcumin and vitamin C as both of them have antioxidant properties which in turn lead to repairing of sperm abnormalities.