Ferulic Acid Supplements Abrogate Oxidative Impairments in Liver and Testis in the Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rat.

The primary objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic antioxidant,
in ameliorating oxidative stress in the testis and liver of diabetic pubertal rats. Male (6 wk
old) rats were rendered diabetic by an acute dose (60 mglkg body weight, intraperitoneal) of streptozotocin
(STZ) and were given oral supplementation of FA (50 mglkg body weightld on alternate
days) for 4 weeks, The protective efficacy of FA was assessed by measuring markers of oxidative
stress in the testis and liver along with the effect of stress on lipid profile in serum/testis. Terminally,
the testis (cytosol and mitochondria) of STZ-administered rats exhibited a marked elevafion
in the status of tpid peroxidation and enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production compared
to the non-",\,abetic controls, FA treatment completely normalized the oxidative impairments
in the testis. Further, STZ-induced depletion of re'duced glutathione (GSH) and elevated proleiti carbonyl
conte"t in the testis were restored to normalcy by FA treatment. The protective effects of FA
were also discernible in the testis in terms of restoration of activilies of various antioxidant
enzymes in the diabetic rats. Furthermore, STZ-induced oxidative impainnents in the liver were also
abrogated significantly by FA treatment. STZ-induced perturbations in serum and testicular lipid
profiles in the diabetic rats were also significantly aHenuated by FA treatment. Collectively, these
results indicate that oral supplementation of FA can significantly mitigate diabetes-associated oxidative
impairments in the testis as well as in the liver and suggests the efficacy of FA as a complementary
therapeutic agent in the management of diabetes-associated oxidative stress-mediated
complications.