Effects of thymol and carvacrol on sperm quality and oxidant/antioxidant balance in rats

In this study, we have investigated the effects of different doses of thymol (T) and carvacrol (C) on sperm quality oxidative stress and antioxidant system. For this purpose, 49 rats were divided into seven groups (7 rats in each group): 1st Group (control); 2nd Group T-10 (thymol 10?mg/kg), 3rd Group T-20 (thymol 20?mg/kg), 4th Group C-10 (carvacrol 10?mg/kg), 5th Group C-20 (carvacrol 20?mg/kg), 6th Group T?+?C-10 (thymol 10?mg/kg?+?carvacrol 10?mg/kg) and 7th Group T?+?C-20 (thymol 20?mg/kg?+?carvacrol 20?mg/kg). The duration of the experiment was 10?weeks for all animals. During the study, sperm quality parameters (motility, concentration, abnormal spermatozoa and live?dead sperm ratio), biochemical parameters [malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione(GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), AST, ALT, GGT, urea and creatinine] were analysed, and histopathological examination was performed. The study results showed that monotherapies of thymol and carvacrol significantly decreased MDA levels in testicles, liver and kidney tissues compared to the control group (p?