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  2. Effect of Curcuma longa extract on reproduction function in mice and testosterone production in Leydig cells

Effect of Curcuma longa extract on reproduction function in mice and testosterone production in Leydig cells

  • J Cell Mol Med. 2024 Apr;28(8):e18303. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.18303.
Yisheng Zhang 1 Liu Yang 1 2 Shan Xue 2 Yichang Zhang 2 Zihan Li 2 Min Zhang 2 Guoyin Kai 3 Juan Li 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Wuhan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
  • 2 Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource and Chemistry, Hubei Shizhen Laboratory, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
  • 3 College of pharmacy, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract

Curcuma longa, best known for its culinary application as the main constituent of curry powder, has shown potential impact on the reproductive system. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of Curcuma longa extract (CLE) on Kidney-Yang deficiency mice induced by hydrocortisone and the possible roles in testosterone secretion in Leydig cells. We evaluated male sexual behaviour, reproductive organ weight, testosterone levels, and histological tissue changes in hydrocortisone-induced mice. CLE effectively reversed hydrocortisone-induced Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome by improving sexual behaviour, testis and epididymis weight, testosterone levels and reducing pathological damage. Our in vitro study further indicated that CLE stimulated testosterone production via upregulating the mRNA and protein expression of steroidogenic Enzymes in Leydig cells. It significantly improved H89-inhibited protein expression of StAR and cAMP-response element-binding (CREB), as well as melatonin-suppressed StAR protein expression. The data obtained from this study suggest that CLE could alleviate Kidney-Yang deficiency symptoms and stimulate testosterone production by upregulating the steroidogenic pathway. This research identifies CLE as a potential nutraceutical option for addressing testosterone deficiency diseases.

Keywords

Curcuma longa extract; Leydig cells; kidney‐Yang deficiency; steroidogenic enzymes; testosterone production.

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