Abstract:

Objective: To explore the effect of Cordyceps militaris stroma polysaccharides (CMSP) on reproductive toxicity
in male mice. Methods: Totally 50 ICR male mice were randomly divided into five groups including blank control group,
positive control group, and CMSP treatment groups at different doses (150, 300 and 600 mg/(kg·d)). The mice from positive
control group were administered with cyclophosphamide at a dose of 20 mg/(kg·d) for 5 days via intraperitoneal injection.
The mice from CMSP treatment groups were administered with CMPS at various doses for 30 days. The mice from blank
control group were administered with an identical volume of distilled water via gavage. After 30 days, the mice from each
group were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, the harvested testes and epididymides were weighed and organ indices were
calculated. HE staining was applied for pathological examination of testes, the number of sperm was detected by red blood
cell counting method, eosin staining method was used to detect sperm motility and abnormality, the serum concentrations
of testosterone (TTE), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were assessed by ELISA, and
immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax protein in testes. Results: Weight
growth rate, sperm count and sperm motility in the treatment groups were significantly higher than in the positive control
group (P < 0.05). Sperm malformation rate in the treatment groups was significantly lower than in the positive control group
(P < 0.05) although no obvious statistical significance was observed among the treatment and blank control groups (P > 0.05).
The serum level of TTE in the treatment groups was significantly higher than that in the positive control group (P < 0.05),
and LH and FSH were significantly lower than those in the positive control group (P < 0.05), but there was no statistical difference
among the treatment groups. The expression level of Bax protein in testes from the treatment groups was significantly lower than
that in the positive control group (P < 0.05), while the expression level of Bcl-2 was significantly higher than that in the positive
control group (P < 0.05); however, there was no statistically significant difference among the treatment groups (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: CMSP has no obvious toxicity to the reproductive system of male mice.

Key words: Cordyceps militaris stroma polysaccharides (CMSP), reproductive toxicity, male mice