ABSTRACT

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that causes number of health issues.

Purpose: To demonstrate the effect of cinnamon bark oil on Leydig cell count and morphology with measurement of serum testosterone levels.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Methodology: Healthy male wistar rats (n=30) were taken and divided into 3 groups with n= 10. Group A functioned as control. Cadmium chloride was administered to the rats to induce testicular toxicity in group B. Group C was the treatment group. Animals were euthanized on day 15. Leydig cell count and morphology was done after haematoxylin and eosin staining of the testicular tissue sections. Serum testosterone level was done by ELISA.

Statistical analysis: Data analyzed by SPSS 22.0v.

Results: Cadmium chloride was observed to significantly reduce leydig cell counts and serum testosterone levels in group B.  No significant effect was observed on the morphology of the leydig cells. Cinnamon bark oil significantly improved the leydig cell count. Serum testosterone levels were observed to increase after the cinnamon bark oil administration. Conclusion: This study clearly showed that cinnamon bark oil has protective effect on the cadmium induced testicular toxicity.