Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disease and it is also closely associated with a reduction in fertility in male patients. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antidiabetic effect of carvacrol (CRV), as a potent antioxidant, on the numbers of germ cells and Sertoli cells in testicular tissue, and the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression of some genes involved in spermatogenesis, including luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), and steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1), as well as hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), and insulin. Adult male Wistar rats (n = 32) were randomly divided into four groups (eight animals per group), including healthy control that received 0.2% Tween 80, diabetic control group, the diabetic group treated orally with CRV (75 mg/kg), and CRV group that received orally CRV (75 mg/kg). The duration of the treatment period lasted 8 weeks. In the diabetic group, the numbers of Sertoli cells and germ cells were significantly decreased, while the treatment with CRV prevented the degree of the damage to the cells mentioned earlier. CRV administration elevated the concentrations of insulin, T, FSH, and LH. Moreover, treatment with CRV significantly enhanced the levels of the mRNA and protein expression of SF-1, LHCGR, and FSHR. According to the obtained results, CRV administration could prevent the deleterious effects of DM on testicular germ cells, and it increases the levels of hormones and some essential genes, such as SF-1, LHCGR, and FSHR, involved in the process of spermatogenesis.

糖尿病（DM）是一种复杂的代谢疾病，它也与男性患者生育力的降低密切相关。本研究的目的是研究香芹酚（CRV）作为强效抗氧化剂的抗糖尿病作用，对睾丸组织中生殖细胞和支持细胞的数量以及某些相关基因的信使RNA（mRNA）和蛋白质表达的影响。在生精过程中，包括促黄体生成素/促性腺激素受体（LHCGR），促卵泡激素受体（FSHR）和类固醇生成因子1（SF-1），以及促黄体生成素（LH），促卵泡激素（FSH）等激素），睾丸激素（T）和胰岛素。成年雄性Wistar大鼠（n= 32）随机分为四组（每组八只动物），包括接受0.2％Tween 80的健康对照组，糖尿病对照组，口服CRV（75 mg / kg）的糖尿病组和口服CRV的组CRV（75 mg / kg）。治疗期持续了8周。在糖尿病组中，Sertoli细胞和生殖细胞的数量显着减少，而CRV的治疗阻止了先前提到的对细胞的损害程度。CRV给药可提高胰岛素，T，FSH和LH的浓度。此外，CRV治疗可显着提高SF-1，LHCGR和FSHR的mRNA和蛋白表达水平。根据获得的结果，CRV给药可以预防DM对睾丸生殖细胞的有害作用，并增加激素水平和精子发生过程中涉及的一些必需基因，例如SF-1，LHCGR和FSHR。