Protective effect of carvacrol on ketamine induced testicular damage in mouse model of schizophrenia

Introduction: Ketamine is applied to induce symptoms of schizophrenia in animal models. Besides the nervous system, ketamine also affects male lower genitourinary tracts. The present study evaluated the effects of carvacrol on antioxidant enzymes and examined the histopathologic changes in the testes of ketamine induced schizophrenic mice.Methods: A total of ۴۸ male mice were treated with ۲۵ mg/kg ketamine or saline for a period of ۱۴ days. Between the ۸th and ۱۴th days, the animals received carvacrol (۲۵ and ۵۰ mg/kg) or saline. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken to measure luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone; the testes were also collected for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. Results: The results indicated that induction of schizophrenia by ketamine led to an oxidative stress by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) level (P < ۰.۰۵). Treatment with ۵۰ mg/kg carvacrol resulted in significant decrease in oxidative injury by decreasing MDA level and increasing antioxidant enzymes (P < ۰.۰۵). Testosterone, FSH and LH levels showed no significant difference between treatment groups and control groups except for testosterone which increased in mice treated with ۵۰ mg/kg carvacrol (P < ۰.۰۵). Administration of carvacrol reduced the deleterious histopathologic changes caused by ketamine.Conclusion: The present study showed that ketamine causes oxidative stress and damage in testicular tissues and co-administration with carvacrol prevents the harmful effects of ketamine.