Sericin exerts antioxidation on testis and epididyms of c57bl/6 mice fed high fat diet

Hyperlipidic diets rich in saturated fatty acids may negatively interfere with male fertility, as it facilitates the occurrence of oxidative stress. This study evaluated the antioxidant effect of oral administration of sericin on testis and epididymis of C57BL/6 mice fed a hyperlipidic diet. Four groups (n 5) were formed: Control (C); Sericin (S); High fat (HF); High fat + Sericin (HFS). The hyperlipid diet was offered to the HF and HFS animals, every days for 14 weeks, whereas C and S were fed a standard diet during the same period. In the last 4 weeks the animals S and HFS received 1,000 mg / kg body weight of sericin by gavage, whereas animals C and HF 0.8% saline, the dose was adjusted weekly. Tissue was collected for analyzes of biomarkers of oxidative stress and morphological. The results obtained allowed to infer the oral administration of sericin it was effective in attenuating weight gain, improving morphology of the germinal epithelium, minimizing the occurrence of lipoperoxidation in the testis and apoptosis, both in the testis and in the epididymis, besides increasing the expression of biomarkers that regulate the antioxidant activity in the epididymis of animals fed a hyperlipidic diet.