Histological and ultrastructural changes in the adult male albino rat testes following chronic crude garlic consumption.

Several studies have presented Garlic (Allium sativum) as a restoring agent for testicular cells after exposure to different types of toxins, however, others have shown that it modified spermatogenesis and might have spermicidal effects. This work has been to assess the positive or negative effect of chronic crude garlic consumption on rat testes using light and transmission electron microscopy with reference to plasma testosterone and LH levels. Forty albino male rats were divided into group A (control) and group B (treated rats). Group B was further subdivided into B1, B2, and B3 subgroups which were administer crude garlic as 20% of their daily food for two, three and four months, respectively. The current study has been the first, to the best of our knowledge, to describe the apoptotic effect of chronic crude garlic consumption targeting Sertoli cells, germ cells and peritubular tissue including interstitial Leydig cells and myoid cells. This might be better explained by inflammatory than degenerative changes in the peritubular tissue and Leydig cells leading to a decrease in testosterone level. Consequently, Sertoli cells degenerate due to a decrease in testosterone and detachment from the basal lamina. Germ cells, which are completely dependent upon Sertoli cells and testosterone to complete there spermatogenesis will be affected. Testicular apoptosis with disruption in spermatogenesis following chronic crude garlic consumption could be correlated with two possible theories; being an anti-hypercholesterolemic agent, it might inhibit steroidogenesis resulting in a decrease in testosterone level and being one of the famous phytoestrogens it possibly has direct estrogen-like actions on adult male rat testes.