Green-Synthesized Curcumin Nanoparticles for Ameliorating Methotrexate-Induced Male Reproductive Dysfunction: Hormonal, Oxidative, and Molecular Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64354/23gzxq29Keywords:
Methotrexate, curcumin nanoparticles, green synthesis; oxidative stress, testicular toxicity, Nrf2/HO-1Abstract
Methotrexate (MTX), although widely employed in oncology and autoimmune disease, is frequently complicated by reproductive toxicity that limits its long-term use, especially in young male patients. The present work examined whether curcumin nanoparticles (CurNPs), prepared through a simple green route using an aqueous plant extract, could blunt this off-target damage. CurNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, TEM, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential, and produced spherical particles of approximately 85 nm with an encapsulation efficiency of ~78 %. Forty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8): control, MTX (20 mg/kg, single i.p.), MTX plus low-dose CurNPs (25 mg/kg/day, oral, 14 d), MTX plus high-dose CurNPs (50 mg/kg/day, oral, 14 d), and CurNPs alone (50 mg/kg/day). MTX caused a sharp drop in serum testosterone, LH and FSH; a near three-fold rise in testicular MDA together with marked depletion of SOD, CAT and GSH; reductions in sperm count, motility and viability; and a transcriptional pattern of suppressed StAR/3β-HSD/Nrf2/HO-1 and elevated Bax/Bcl-2 and caspase-3. CurNPs reversed these changes in a dose-dependent manner, with the high dose restoring most parameters to values statistically comparable to control. Histopathology corroborated the molecular and biochemical data. Green-synthesized CurNPs therefore appear to be a promising adjunct strategy to mitigate MTX-induced testicular dysfunction, acting through combined antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and steroidogenic mechanisms.
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