THE EFFECT OF VITAMIN D3 (CHOLECALCIFEROL) ON MSG- INDUCED ERECTILE FUNCTIONS IMPAIRMENT IN RATS

ABSTRACT Monosodium glutamate, although a widely accepted flavor enhancer has been reported to impaired erectile tissue functions following its ability to disrupt the vascular response and calcium based induced mechanism. Interestingly, vitamin D3 is a known calcium mobilizing vitamin alongside it other reported multiple biological effect, but no study have evaluated it possible protective effect on MSG induced erectile tissues function impairment, hence this study. Adult male Wistar rats (40) were allotted into four experimental groups of = 10 each and treated orally for thirty (30) days as follow; control group, MSG-only group (150 mg/kg), vitamin D3-only group (500 IU/kg), and a co-treatment group receiving both MSG (150 mg/kg) and vitamin D3 (500 IU/kg). The animals were assessed for changes in serum testosterone, dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) concentration and the concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), nitric oxide synthases (nNOS, eNOS and iNOS)), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) Concentration in the penile tissues, and histology of the penis. Data were analysed using One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test for pairwise comparison was set at = 0.05. The vitamin D3 administration to the MSG treated rats significantly increased the serum concentration of Testosterone ( = 0.0002), serotonin ( = 0.0003), nitric oxide ( = 0.0041), nNOS ( = 0.0001), eNOS ( = 0.0001), iNOS ( = 0.0001), and cGMP ( = 0.0004), but significantly reduced the serum dopamine ( = 0.0002), AchE ( = 0.0001), and Penile PDE-5 ( = 0.0001) concentrations when compared to the MSG-only treated rats. Also the vitamin D3 administration ensures the recovery of the penile spongiosum and interstitial fibrous connective tissues that appeared loosened following MSG use These findings thus support the hypothesis that vitamin D3 administration prevents the erectile dysfunction in the rat’s model by mitigating the toxic effects of the MSG and restoring hormonal balance, neurotransmitter levels, nitric oxide signaling, and penile tissue architecture hence, may potentially serves as a therapeutic agent for preserving male reproductive health in the context of dietary MSG exposure.