title: The Prophylactic Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) on Ethanol-Induced Reproductive Toxicity in Male Rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ginger is a natural dietary component with antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the prophylactic effect of ginger extract on ethanol-induced reproductive toxicity in male rats by measuring the total homocysteine (tHcy), trace elements, antioxidant enzymes activity including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, and malondialdehyde (MDA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups and treated daily for 28 days as follows: control, control+ginger (1 g/kg of body weight (B.W)/day by gavage), test group (ethanol 4 g/kg of B.W/day by gavage), and treated group (ethanol+ginger). At the end of the experiment, all the rats were sacrificed and their testes were removed and used for the measurement of the above factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results in the test group indicated that ethanol decreased antioxidant enzymes activity and increased MDA and tHcy compared with the control groups (P<0.05). In the treated group, ginger extract improved antioxidant enzymes activity and reduced tHcy and MDA level compared with the test group (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It can be concluded that ethanol causes oxidative stress in testis and ginger extract improves the trace elements, antioxidant enzymes activity, and decreases tHcy and MDA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akbari
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Khadijeh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nasiri
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heydari
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Hamdollah
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Mosavat
keywords: Ethanol; Ginger; Oxidative Stress; Testis