Antioxidant Activity of Fermented Red Bean Extract on Sperm Quality of Mice Exposed to Cigarette Smoke

Smoking has a negative effect on fertilization as it decreases sperm quality. The current research aimed to investigate the effect of fermented red bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) extract on sperm motility, viability, and plasma membrane integrity of white mice (Mus musculus) exposed to cigarette smoke. The red beans were subjected to a 36-hour fermentation process using Rhizopus spp. Then, methanol was extracted by maceration method for 24 hours until maceration was obtained. In this study, 25 male white mice aged 3 months were randomly divided into 5 groups of 5 mice. Group C (negative control) was given 0.5 mL of carboxymethyl cellulose natrium (CMC Na) 1% solution orally without unfiltered cigarette smoke exposure, and group C+ (positive control) was given 0.5 mL of CMC Na 1% solution orally and unfiltered cigarette smoke exposure. Treatment groups T1, T2, and T3 were orally given fermented red bean extract at doses of 26 mg/kg Body weight (BW), 52 mg/kg BW, and 104 mg/kg BW, respectively, and then were exposed to unfiltered cigarette smoke. For 36 days, treatment groups (except the negative control) were subjected to the inhalation of smoke from an unfiltered cigarette containing a nicotine dose of 2.2 mg. The exposure period lasted for 20 minutes each day. Each group was put into a cigarette smoke-exposing box. The sperm motility (observing the forward movement of spermatozoa), the sperm viability (examining the color of the sperm head), and the sperm plasma membrane integrity (observing the tail shape using the hypoosmotic swelling test) were then evaluated. The findings indicated significant differences in sperm motility, viability, and plasma membrane integrity of each group with positive control. A dose of 104 mg/kg BW of fermented red bean extract had the best potential to maintain sperm motility (70%), viability (82.13%), and plasma membrane integrity (61.93%) of mice exposed to unfiltered cigarette smoke.