Vol 10, Issue 9, 2017 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 MODULATORY ACTIVITY OF BEE POLLEN AGAINST THE TOXICITY OF ANTITUBERCULOSIS DRUGS RIFAMPICIN AND ISONIAZID IN TESTIS OF SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS UMESH BHARTI 1 *, NEELIMA R KUMAR 2 , JASPREET KAUR 3 1 Department of Zoology, Government College for Girls, Chandigarh, India. 2 Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. 3 Department of Biotechnology, UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. Email: dbhv90@gmail.com Received: 08 May 2017, Revised and Accepted: 25 May 2017 ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study is assessment of protective role of bee pollen in antituberculosis drug (rifampicin and isoniazid)-induced toxicity in testis of Sprague Dawley rats. Methods: Healthy rats weighing 180±20 g were selected for the study. Rats were divided into five groups, i.e., Group A (control), Group B (100 mg/kg body weight/day rifampicin-treated), Group C (rifampicin 100 mg/kg body weight and bee pollen 100 mg/kg body weight), Group D (isoniazid 50 mg/kg body/day treated), and Group E (isoniazid 50 mg/kg body weight/day with bee pollen 100 mg/kg body weight/day) serve as experimental groups. Results: Aqueous extract of bee pollen when administered along with the antituberculosis drugs (rifampicin, isoniazid) showed significant reduction in the level of malondialdehyde while the activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione (GSH) reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathioneS- transferase, catalase, and GSH was elevated representing the antioxidant potential of bee pollen against the drug-treated groups. Supplementation of bee pollen significantly reduced histological changes in the testis of drug-induced groups such as smaller epithelial height, germ cell loss, and irregular seminiferous tubules to near normal. Conclusion: Bee pollen has shown the modulatory effect against damage and oxidative stress induced by antituberculosis drugs (rifampicin and isoniazid) in rat testis. Keywords: Bee pollen, Testis, Histology, Oxidative stress, Rifampicin, Isoniazid. INTRODUCTION The World Health Organization (WHO) has shown concern about the burden of tuberculosis in the developing countries. About 1.8 million deaths are caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis worldwide and there is an increase in a number of new cases as well [1]. Even though rifampicin and isoniazid are wonder drugs in effective management of tuberculosis, certain toxic effects have been documented in humans. The coadministration of ethambutol, isoniazid, rifampicin, and pyrazinamide to male rats during the period of spermatogenesis caused an increase in the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), and the rate of glutathione (GSH) and protein SH-group contents was significantly decreased [2]. Fatal decrease of male fertilizing capacity and fertility was also reported by antituberculosis drugs. To minimize the adverse effects of tuberculosis therapy, there is a necessity to supplement tuberculosis therapy with natural products. Various natural products such as Ocimum sanctum [3], garlic [4], Silymarin [5], Aloe vera [6], and propolis [7] had potential to reduce the oxidative stress caused by antituberculosis drugs. Keeping all these activities in mind, the present experiment was designed to study the preventive role of bee pollen against toxic effect of antituberculosis drug induced toxicity in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Drugs Rifampicin and Isoniazid drugs were purchased from HiMedia. Bee pollen Bee pollen was collected from Langstroth beehives maintained in an apiary at Majri village near old Panchkula, Haryana. Aqueous extract of bee pollen was prepared. Experimental animals Male SD rats of body weight in the range of 180±20 g were obtained from the central animal house of Panjab University, Chandigarh. All experiments and protocols reported here strictly followed the principle as laid down by the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (IAEC), Panjab University, Chandigarh vide letter no PU/IAEC/2013/18. Experimental protocol The rats were divided into five groups randomly (n=6) • Group A received only the normal diet. • Group B received along with normal diet received the rifampicin (100 mg/kg body weight/day) • Group C received along with normal diet rifampicin (100 mg/kg body weight/day) and bee pollen (100 mg/kg body weight/day) • Group D received along with normal diet isoniazid (50 mg/kg/day) • Group E along with normal diet received with isoniazid (50 mg/kg/day) and bee pollen (100 mg/kg/day). These treatments were given daily for 30 days. All rats were kept under identical conditions for 30 days with free access to food (standard laboratory pellet diet from Ashirwaad Industries) and water. After the last treatment, rats were sacrificed under light anesthesia and cervical dislocation. Testes were removed and weighed for preparing tissue homogenate. Testis samples were rapidly excised; after dissection, washed with ice-cold saline and 10% testis homogenates were prepared in ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) using homogenizer for 2 minutes at 3000 r.p.m in ice till total disruption of cells. Post-mitochondrial supernatant was prepared by centrifugation at 10,000 g for 20 minutes at 4°C in cold centrifuge. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4. 0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v10i9.19701 Research Article