Background: Lead (Pb) remains a common contaminant in the environment in many parts of the world. Pb exposure adversely affects many human organs, including the gonads, via oxidant and inflammatory marker propagation in affected tissues. Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOE) is a rich source of antioxidants, reported to have robust anti-inflammatory properties.

Aims: This investigation assessed whether MOE could mitigate testicular damage caused by Pb acetate treatment in rats.

Methods: Four experimental groups were used: control animals (saline only), MOE (MOE only), PbAc (Pb acetate injection only), and MOE+PbAc. All treatments were administered for two weeks, after which animals were sacrificed, and tissues and serum were examined. To confirm the potential antioxidant effect of MOE, the total polyphenolic (TP) and flavonoid (TF) concentrations were determined.

Results: The obtained results revealed that the TP concentration was 17.4 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram MOE dried weight and the TF concentration was 5.6 mg of quercetin equivalents per gram MOE dried weight. Moreover, MOE partially restored levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone and significantly attenuated oxidative stress biomarkers, malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO), compared to levels observed in the PbAc-only group. MOE significantly increased the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione (GSH). Testicular levels of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) were significantly decreased in MOE+PbAc compared to PbAc. MOE also significantly decreased pro-apoptotic Bax and caspase- 3 mRNA and protein levels and increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 mRNA and protein levels.

Conclusion: MOE extract was associated with significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti- apoptotic activity that ameliorated testicular damage induced by Pb acetate. MOE is proposed as a favorable adjuvant to existing treatments for Pb-induced toxicity.

背景：铅 (Pb) 仍然是世界许多地方环境中的常见污染物。铅暴露通过受影响组织中的氧化剂和炎症标志物传播，对包括性腺在内的许多人体器官产生不利影响。辣木叶提取物 (MOE) 是抗氧化剂的丰富来源，据报道具有强大的抗炎特性。

目的：本研究评估了 MOE 是否可以减轻醋酸铅治疗引起的大鼠睾丸损伤。

方法：使用四个实验组：对照动物（仅盐水）、MOE（仅 MOE）、PbAc（仅注射醋酸铅）和 MOE+PbAc。所有治疗均进行两周，之后处死动物，并检查组织和血清。为了确认 MOE 的潜在抗氧化作用，测定了总多酚 (TP) 和类黄酮 (TF) 浓度。

结果：所得结果表明TP浓度为17.4mg没食子酸当量/g MOE干重，TF浓度为5.6mg槲皮素当量/g MOE干重。此外，与仅 PbAc 组中观察到的水平相比，MOE 部分恢复了促黄体生成素 (LH) 和促卵泡激素 (FSH) 和睾酮的水平，并显着减弱了氧化应激生物标志物丙二醛 (MDA) 和一氧化氮 (NO) . MOE 显着增加了酶促和非酶促抗氧化分子超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD) 和过氧化氢酶 (CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶 (GPx) 和谷胱甘肽还原酶 (GR) 以及谷胱甘肽 (GSH)。与 PbAc 相比，MOE+PbAc 中炎性细胞因子肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNFα）和白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）的睾丸水平显着降低。MOE 还显着降低了促凋亡 Bax 和 caspase-3 mRNA 和蛋白质水平，并增加了抗凋亡 Bcl-2 mRNA 和蛋白质水平。

结论：MOE 提取物具有显着的抗氧化、抗炎和抗凋亡活性，可改善醋酸铅诱导的睾丸损伤。MOE 被提议作为现有治疗铅诱导毒性的有利佐剂。