Sesame oil may shield fertility from a common transplant drug
Medicinal Plants
The sesame seeds you might toss in a stir-fry come from a plant whose oil is showing real promise as a low-cost way to protect fertility in patients on life-saving but reproductively damaging medications.
Researchers gave male mice a drug called cyclosporine, which organ transplant patients take to prevent rejection but which can harm fertility and hormone balance. When the mice also received sesame seed oil, their bodies fought off more of the damage, with better hormone levels and stronger natural antioxidant defenses than mice given the drug alone. It's an early sign that a common kitchen oil might one day help protect patients from a tough side effect of necessary medicine.
Key Findings
Cyclosporine treatment alone disrupted reproductive hormone levels and increased oxidative stress markers in male mice
Co-administration of sesame seed oil improved antioxidant defense activity compared to cyclosporine-only groups
Sesame seed oil treatment was associated with partial restoration of hormonal balance disrupted by cyclosporine
chevron_right Technical Summary
Sesame seed oil helped protect male mice from reproductive damage caused by cyclosporine, a common transplant drug, by boosting antioxidant activity and restoring hormone levels.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Therapeutic Efficacy of Sesame Seed Oil in Cyclosporine-Induced Reproductive Toxicity: Hormonal Regulation and Antioxidant Defense in Male Mice
Abstract not provided.
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