ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
The effects of polysaccharides from Inonotus obliquus, Artemisinin, and Dihydroartemisinin on the reproductive system of male mice infected with Neospora caninum
Provisionally accepted
Jianhao Zhao
Fanglin ZhaoYang LiangZhenyu Wang
Pengfei MinYixuan JinLu LiZhen MaYang WangXin ZhangSiyuan HanLijun Jia*- Yanbian University, Yanji, China
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The present study investigated the protective effects of Inonotus obliquus polysaccharides (IOPs), artemisinin, and dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on Neospora caninum-induced damage of the reproductive system in male BALB/c mice. The results showed that IOPs and DHA exhibited significant anti-neosporal activity. Compared to infected mice, IOPs-treated mice showed significantly increased sperm density (P < 0.05) and sperm motility (P < 0.05), while DHA-treated mice exhibited a remarkably reduced sperm deformity rate (P < 0.05), Compared with the model group, the sperm motility in the ART-treated mice was significantly upregulated (P<0.01). Histopathological analysis revealed that all three treatments ameliorated testicular and epididymal tissue damage, reduced mitochondrial vacuolization, and improved organ indices. Biochemical assays showed a reduced level of malondialdehyde and a high level of acid phosphatase activity in the testicular tissue of treated mice. Immunological assays confirmed decreased levels of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG2a, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, and anti-sperm antibodies in the treatment groups. Gene expression analysis indicated that IOPs significantly downregulated the expression of caspase-3, p53, and Dnajb13 and upregulated expression of SYCP3 and Stra8. There was no significant difference in the ART group (P>0.05). DHA markedly reduced Dnajb13 expression but enhanced SYCP3, Stra8, and Ipo11 expression. These findings suggest that ART has no obvious therapeutic effect on male mice infected with Neospora caninum, IOPs and DHA can effectively mitigate N. caninum-induced Spermatogenesis block, spermatozoon maturation impairment, and spermatozoon structural defects in male mice antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiapoptotic effects and could be considered promising candidates for anti-neosporal therapy.
Keywords: Artemisinin, Dihydroartemisinin, Inonotus obliquus polysaccharides, Male reproduction, Neospora caninum, Oxidative Stress
Received: 05 Nov 2025; Accepted: 21 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhao, Zhao, Liang, Wang, Min, Jin, Li, Ma, Wang, Zhang, Han and Jia. 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: Lijun Jia
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