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Exploring the potential of selenium nanoparticles and fabricated selenium nanoparticles @vitamin C nanocomposite in
Rabab F Hindawy1, Rana M M Refaat1, Atef E Fouda1
1Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Al Nadi Al Ryadi, Qism Benha, Al-Qalyubia Governorate, Benha 13518, Egypt.
Background:
The tobacco epidemic signifies a major public health threat. Nicotine (NIC), a major active constituent in tobacco, impedes male fertility and semen quality. This work is implemented to explore the potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and the newly fabricated SeNPs @vitamin C (SeNPs@VITC) nanocomposite in mitigating testicular toxicity induced by NIC.
Materials And Methods:
The six groups of 48 adult Wistar rats were designed as follows: the control group injected intraperitoneally with normal saline, the SeNPs group treated orally with 2 mg/kg of SeNPs, the SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite group treated orally with 2 mg/kg of SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite, the NIC group injected intraperitoneally with 1.25 mL/kg of NIC, the NIC+ SeNPs group received SeNPs plus NIC, and the NIC+ SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite group received SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite plus NIC. Treatments were administered over a 28-day period.
Results:
NIC treatment significantly caused poor sperm quality, decreased serum testosterone, increased follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations, reduced hemoglobin levels, leukocytosis, disrupted testicular oxidant/antioxidant balance, and disorganized testicular structure. The construction of the novel SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite, compared to NIC plus SeNPs alone, demonstrated a more potent ameliorative effect on NIC-induced reproductive toxicity in adult rats. The SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite significantly increased sperm count, reduced the percentage of sperm head abnormalities, lowered both serum FSH and LH concentrations, and improved the hemoglobin response.
Conclusions:
Both SeNPs and SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite alleviated the testicular toxicity induced by NIC, but the SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite exhibited superior efficacy. The SeNPs@VITC nanocomposite could be employed to advance enhanced therapeutic strategies for addressing male infertility.
