Physiological and molecular effects of buckwheat-enriched diets in male rats with a focus on reproductive tissue

In this study, the effect of dietary buckwheat on rat testicular tissue was investigated. In the study, 28 male Sprague Dawley rats were used. The rats were randomly divided into four equal groups. The Control Group was fed with a diet containing 36% wheat, Group-1 with 12% buckwheat and 24% wheat, Group-2 with 24% buckwheat and 12% wheat and Group-3 with 36% buckwheat. At the end of the study, the expression levels of Bcl-2, Caspase-3, P38-MAPK, STAT3, JAK2 and PI3K genes were analyzed by Western blot analysis. As the proportion of buckwheat in the diet increased, caspase-3 gene expression increased, but the expression of other genes decreased. In testicular histology, the structure of the Control Group and Group-1 was preserved, while deterioration was observed in the other two groups. Since this damage would also affect spermatogenesis and spermatozoa in the epididymis, subsequent spermatologic analysis showed a significant decrease in semen quality in Group-3. It was concluded that 12% buckwheat supplementation positively affected the testicular structure and semen quality of rats, while 36% buckwheat supplementation negatively affected the testicular structure and semen quality.