EFFECTS OF SYRINGIC ACID ON CISPLATIN-INDUCED GONADOTOXICITY IN MALE WISTAR RATS

Cisplatin (CISP) is a xenobiotic that is made of platinum, which is used to treat various types of solid cancers. Just like any other anticancer agent, CISP possesses its own side effects, which are toxic and the application of this agent in the chemotherapy process is a waste of energy. Since it is part of the current research, the initial in silico molecular docking experiment performed on syringic acid (SAC) showed that SAC had a high possibility of activating an antioxidant enzyme - superoxide dismutase. This is binding with an affinity of -4.5 kcal/mol compared to a known / documented activator which has a binding affinity of -4.6 kcal/mol. We therefore analyzed the therapeutic and protective effect of SAC on CISP induced testicular toxicity in rats in the in vivo (within) experiment as an effort to mitigate the side effect of the latter. There were 35 rats in the experimental design with 5 groups of 7 rats in each group: control, CISP (5mg/kg) only, SAC (50mg/kg) pre- and post-treatments, SAC (50mg/kg) only. The gonadotoxicity induced by CISP was determined and assessed by a substantial decrease in the serum level of FST, LH, testosterone, testis PI3K, NF-kB, and testis GST and CAT levels in comparison to the controls. Additionally, the amount of testis MDA, H 2 O 2, GSH, and testis GPx and SOD activities were significantly higher compared to the control samples. CISP induced gonadotoxicity effect was alleviated by the SAC treatments, especially the post-treatment. The above findings have led to the conclusion that the CISP-inflicted gonadotoxicity was alleviated through the use of SAC whose antioxidant effect neutralized the production of free radicals, lipid peroxidation as well as oxidative stress in rats. Keywords: Syringic acid, cisplatin, oxidative stress, superoxide dismutase, gonadotoxicity.