Effect of moxa smoke on sperm parameters and oxidative stress in rats with asthenozoospermia

Asthenozoospermia is a leading cause of male infertility, characterized by reduced sperm motility. In this study, we determined sperm motility and the activities of antioxidant enzymes and oxidation products in the testis of rats with ornidazole (ORN)-induced asthenozoospermia and further examined and compared the differential effects of moxa smoke (MS) and cigarette smoke (CS) on sperm motility and oxidative stress (OS) of asthenozoospermic rats. The smoke intervention was initiated 11 days after intragastric administration of ORN, followed by the examination of testis index, sperm parameters, OS-related gene levels, and testicular histopathology. Sperm motility and antioxidant enzyme activities, as well as oxidation products significantly decreased in ORN-induced rats compared with MS-treated rats (p < .05-.001). MS treatment restored the reduced sperm motility and activities of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, but increased the malondialdehyde and nitric oxide synthetase levels in ORN-induced rats (p < .05-.001). Also, the histopathological changes in the testis of ORN-induced rats were improved by MS treatment. The study highlighted that MS was an effective factor in moxibustion therapy, which notably improved the sperm motility of asthenozoospermic rats by inhibiting OS in the reproductive system.弱精子症是以精子活力下降为主要表现的病症，是引起男性不育症的常见病因之一。本实验我们探讨了不同浓度的艾烟对弱精子症大鼠精子参数的影响和对生殖系统氧化应激损伤产生的作用，比较了艾烟与香烟对机体产生的效应差异。实验从奥硝唑溶液灌胃的第11天开始进行烟雾干预。干预结束后，检测每组大鼠的体重增量、睾丸质量、睾丸指数、精子参数、氧化应激指标以及睾丸组织形态病理学变化。结果表明，弱精子症模型大鼠的精子活力和抗氧化酶活性显著下降，氧化产物含量显著升高。不同浓度的艾烟干预后，能够显著改善弱精子症大鼠的精子活力和抗氧化酶活性，降低氧化产物含量，睾丸组织形态结构损伤也得到恢复。因此，艾烟作为艾灸疗法的起效因素之一，可能通过改善生殖系统氧化应激反应的方式，提高弱精子症大鼠的精子活力。.