Impact of Black Seed Oil on Male Sex Hormones and Binding Proteins in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is a metabolic disease that has a detrimental effect on human health and patients' quality of life. The number of male patients with diabetes is increasing, and so are the infertility problems in the male population. This study aims to investigate the impact of black seed oil (BSO) on male sex hormones and binding proteins in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Methods: Forty (40) male Wistar rats weighing 200-250g were randomly allocated into eight (8) groups of five (5) animals per group. Group 1 followed the induction of hyperglycemia, group 2 received normal saline, group 3 received 200mg/kg of metformin, group 4 received 2mg/kg of glimepiride, group 5 received 2.5ml/kg of BSO, group 6 received glimepiride and BSO, group 7 received metformin and BSO, and group 8 received BSO, glimepiride, and metformin. Results: The result shows that diabetes significantly reduced serum and testicular testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels compared to the normoglycemic-controlled group (p<0.05). BSO co-administered with glimepiride significantly increased serum and testicular testosterone levels compared to diabetic control and monotherapy of either glimepiride or black seed oil (p<0.05). There is a positive correlation between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) with r²   = 0.561 while a negative correlation between glycosylated hemoglobin and Androgen binding protein (ABP) with r ²= 0.345. Conclusion Diabetes mellitus exerts an adverse impact on male sex hormones and sex hormone-binding proteins, consequently leading to a detrimental effect on male fertility. However, black seed oil enhances male sex hormones, albeit without normalizing them to normoglycemic levels. Furthermore, glycosylated hemoglobin levels affect both sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and androgen-binding protein (ABP).