Probiotics as a therapeutic approach to alleviate reproductive harm from polystyrene microplastics in male rats

Abstract

Microplastics (MP) are considered as a new persistent environmental pollutant. The study investigated the impact of probiotics on reproductive toxicity induced by polystyrene microplastics (PS-MP). It was observed that PS-MP administration caused dose-dependent testicular damage and negatively regulated the expression of kisspeptin and its receptors in the hypothalamus. However, supplementation of probiotics significantly mitigated oxidative stress and inflammation in cell experiments. In animal experiments, probiotics were found to improve testicular damage, decrease sperm nitric oxide, and increase blood levels of sex hormones in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that probiotics may play a role in reducing testicular damage caused by PS-MP through their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study provides valuable insights into mitigating the reproductive damage associated with microplastic exposure and offers a new approach to addressing microplastic toxicology for reproductive health.