Hippocampus kuda protein hydrolysate improves male reproductive dysfunction in diabetic rats

The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rapidly increasing. This disease is associated with many complications including male reproductive dysfunctions and infertility. Seahorse ( Hippocampus kuda) is a marine teleost fish well known for its beneficial effects on the reproductive system in traditional Chinese medicine books. Recently, several studies have been shown that the enzymatic hydrolysate of seahorse has multiple pharmacological activities. This study aimed to investigate the seahorse peptide hydrolysate (SH) ameliorative effects on the diabetic-induced male reproductive dysfunction in rat models. The in vivo studies were carried out with three different doses of SH (4, 8, and 20 mg/kg) and the diabetes condition was induced by administrating with streptozotocin (35 mg/kg) and fed a 40% high-fat diet. Seahorse hydrolysate (20 mg/kg) inhibited lipid peroxidation, increased antioxidant enzyme activity, and restored seminiferous tubules morphology in testis. Moreover, it improved reproductive dysfunction by increasing the level of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, sperm count, and motility. According to these results, we suggested that SH exhibited amelioration effects on the reproductive dysfunction.