Effect of date palm pollen on serum testosterone and intra-testicular environment in male albino rats

Date palm pollen (DPP) is suggested to increase the concentration of serum testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in rats. Intra-testicular testosterone (ITT) is thought to play a key role in the control of spermatogenesis but is rarely measured. We therefore planned this study to examine its effect on intra-testicular testosterone levels and serum testosterone in male albino rats. Adult rats were divided into two groups, control and experimental, with 12 rats in each. Blood samples were drawn for analysis from tail vein at day 0, 12, 24 and 35. The experimental group was given DPP suspension in a single oral dosage of 120 mg/kg daily, starting at day 1, for 35 days (dose was confirmed by a pilot study). At the end of the experimental period, the rats were dissected and the testes were removed and weighed. Testes were minced in phosphate buffer solution at a proportion of 1:10. The tissue homogenate obtained was cold centrifuged. The supernatant was taken for the estimation of ITT levels. There was a statistically significant increase in serum testosterone levels at day 24 which increased from (mean ± SD) 1.81 ± 0.05 to 2.12 ± 0.13 and from 1.82 ± 0.05 to 3.09 ± 0.22 on day 35, and ITT levels were raised from 76.48 ± 2.4 to 129.90 ± 9.66 on day 35 in experimental groups as compared to control group. The results of the present study demonstrate that date palm pollen is involved in the increased reproductive activity and serum levels of testosterone and intra-testicular testosterone.   Key words: Date palm pollen, serum testosterone, intra-testicular testosterone, infertility.