Ginsenoside Rg1 ameliorates testicular senescence changes in D-gal-induced aging mice via anti-inflammatory and antioxidative mechanisms

With the growing population, aging, extended lifespans and anti-aging have become popular areas of research in the life and social sciences. With increasing age, the structure and function of the testes, the spermatogenetic and androgen-producing organ in the male reproductive system, gradually declines. Ginsenoside Rg1 is an extract of Panax ginseng in traditional Chinese medicine. The extract facilitates anti-aging through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, it has not been reported whether ginsenoside Rg1 delays testicular aging. The present study established D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging mouse models to examine the protective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the structure and function of the testes, and the underlying mechanism. A total of 60 healthy specific pathogen-free male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: Control group; Rg1 group; D-gal + Rg1 group; and D-gal group. The tissues of the mice were used for further experiments. The present study further investigated the effects of Rg1 on the volume of serum testosterone, the testicular index, testicular microscopic structures, the senescence of spermatogenetic cells, the apoptosis of spermatogenetic cells, the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, the levels of inflammatory cytokines, and the levels of S-phase kinase-associated protein (p19), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1 (p21) and cellular tumor antigen p53 (p53) in D-gal-induced aging mice. In general, compared with the D-gal group, the treatment of Rg1 increased the testis index, serum testosterone level and the active content of superoxide dismutase and the total antioxidant capacity. The percentage of senescence-associated β-galactosidase-positive cells, the level of apoptosis and the volume of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in testicular tissues were significantly decreased, and the expression of p19, p53 and p21 was downregulated due to the treatment with Rg1. The results of the present study demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg1 was able to protect the testes against D-gal-induced aging in mice. In addition, the protective effect of Rg1 may be achieved via antioxidation and downregulation of the p19/p53/p21 signaling pathway.