ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1622017
Lycium barbarum and Lactobacillus acidophilus synergistically protect against anti-tuberculosis drug-induced male reproductive injury via gut microbiota-independent pathways in mice
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
- 2The First Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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As first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs, rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) are associated with reproductive impairment during their use, accompanied by sustained dysbiosis of the gut microbiota (GM). Lycium barbarum (Wolfberry), a substance that can be used both as medicine and food, is often used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat male reproductive-related diseases. However, the potential of wolfberry to mitigate reproductive injury induced by anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) drugs via modulation of the GM has not been reported. This study aimed to explore the protective effect and mechanism of wolfberry on the reproductive injury of male mice induced by anti-TB drugs. Wolfberry improved sperm quality in mice with reproductive injury induced by anti-TB drugs. Specifically, wolfberry increased sperm count and motility, alleviated testicular pathological damage, and regulated the levels of sex hormones, including FSH, LH, and T. Besides, wolfberry restored intestinal barrier function, enhanced the abundance of L.acidophilus in the gut, and modulated key processes involved in spermatid differentiation, sperm development, and the meiotic cell cycle. Notably, the combination of wolfberry and L. acidophilus yielded the most significant protective effects against reproductive injury induced by anti-TB drugs.Our findings suggest that wolfberry protects against reproductive injury induced by anti-TB drugs, partially mediated through modulation of the GM, though this effect is not entirely dependent on the microbiota. Importantly, wolfberry and L. acidophilus play a synergistic role in protecting against the reproductive injury induced by anti-TB drugs.
Keywords: Lycium barbarum, Gut Microbiota, Male reproductive injury, intestinal barrier, Lactobacillus acidophilus
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Song, Guan, Du, Gong, Wang, Xiong, Gao and Shi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yuting Gao, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
Xinli Shi, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
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