Valeriana officinalis Curtails Experimental Varicocele-Linked Reproductive Dysfunction in Mature Rats: In Vivo and in Vitro Fertility Evidence

Abd-Al-Hassan, Ali Ayad; Shalizar-Jalali, Ali; Najafi, Gholamreza

doi:10.30500/ivsa.2026.586406.1496

Valeriana officinalis Curtails Experimental Varicocele-Linked Reproductive Dysfunction in Mature Rats: In Vivo and in Vitro Fertility Evidence

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ali Ayad Abd-Al-Hassan

Ali Shalizar-Jalali

Gholamreza Najafi

Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

10.30500/ivsa.2026.586406.1496

Abstract

Varicocele as the most pivotal cause of mendable male infertility, can play an etiological role in up to 70% of secondary infertilities. The objective of this study was to unmask the effects of Valeriana officinalis (VO) on in vivo and in vitro fertility following experimental varicocele induction in mature rats. Twenty-four mature male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four equal groups (n = 6), including control, sham, varicocele, and varicocele plus VO (250 mg/kg/day; PO). After a 60-day experimental period, serum levels of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone, and testicular total anti-oxidant capacity and malondialdehyde, as well as in vivo and in vitro fertility rates were scrupulously determined. Post-varicocele VO administration significantly attenuated varicocele-related alterations in biochemical profile and in vivo and in vitro fertility outcomes. These findings highlight the gonado-protective activity of VO in an experimental varicocele in mature rats, owing its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties.

Keywords

Fertility

Rat

Valeriana officinalis

Varicocele

Subjects