Diabetes-associated sexual dysfunction and fertility impairments are major secondary complications in diabetic patients and animal models. Natural herbs are important sources of therapeutic agents for diabetic complications. This study investigated the effect of vitexin on male sexual dysfunction and fertility impairments in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg/kg STZ for 5 consecutive days in mice. Vitexin (10, 20 or 40 mg/kg) and Sildenafil citrate (SC, 5 mg/kg) were administered daily for 62 days after the induction of diabetes. The parameters of sexual behavior and fertility were analyzed. The reproductive organ weight, sperm motility, and viability of the treated mice were examined. Testicular histopathological alterations were detected by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate serum hormonal levels. Results showed that 40 mg/kg vitexin significantly improved the sexual behavior and fertility levels compared with the diabetic group. Moreover, vitexin (20 or 40 mg/kg) significantly increased reproductive organ weight and improved testicular pathological structure damage. Meanwhile, sperm analysis demonstrated that vitexin significantly restored sperm quality in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, ELISA data showed that vitexin significantly increased the serum testosterone (T), follicular-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels but decreased the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) level to different degrees. These findings suggest that vitexin ameliorates sexual dysfunction and fertility impairments in male diabetic mice possibly by modulating the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonadal axis.

糖尿病相关性功能障碍和生育能力障碍是糖尿病患者和动物模型的主要继发并发症。天然草药是糖尿病并发症治疗剂的重要来源。这项研究调查了维生素X对链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的糖尿病小鼠中男性性功能障碍和生育能力损害的影响。通过在小鼠中连续5天腹膜内注射45mg / kg STZ来诱导糖尿病。诱导糖尿病后62天，每天服用Vitexin（10、20或40 mg / kg）和枸Sil酸Sildenafil（SC，5 mg / kg）。分析了性行为和生育能力的参数。检查了处理过的小鼠的生殖器官重量，精子运动性和生存力。苏木精和曙红检测出睾丸组织病理学改变（H＆E）染色。酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）用于评估血清激素水平。结果显示，与糖尿病组相比，40 mg / kg的葡萄黄素显着改善了性行为和生育水平。此外，葡萄黄素（20或40 mg / kg）显着增加了生殖器官的重量，并改善了睾丸的病理结构损伤。同时，精子分析表明，vitexin以剂量依赖性方式显着恢复了精子质量。此外，ELISA数据显示，葡萄黄素显着提高了血清睾丸激素（T），促卵泡激素（FSH）和促黄体生成素（LH）的水平，但降低了促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）的水平。