Neural network assessment of herbal protection against chemotherapeutic-induced reproductive toxicity

Theor Biol Med Model. 2012 Jan 24:9:1. doi: 10.1186/1742-4682-9-1.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the protective effects of Ginkgo biloba's (GB) extract against chemotherapeutic-induced reproductive toxicity using a data mining tool, namely Neural Network Clustering (NNC) on two types of data: biochemical & fertility indicators and Texture Analysis (TA) parameters. GB extract (1 g/kg/day) was given orally to male albino rats for 26 days. This period began 21 days before a single cisplatin (CIS) intraperitoneal injection (10 mg/kg body weight). GB given orally significantly restored reproductive function. Tested extract also notably reduced the CIS-induced reproductive toxicity, as evidenced by restoring normal morphology of testes. In GB, the attenuation of CIS-induced damage was associated with less apoptotic cell death both in the testicular tissue and in the sperms. CIS-induced alterations of testicular lipid peroxidation were markedly improved by the examined plant extract. NNC has been used for classifying animal groups based on the quantified biochemical & fertility indicators and microscopic image texture parameters extracted by TA. NNC showed the separation of two clusters and the distribution of groups among them in a way that signifies the dose-dependent protective effect of GB. The present study introduces the neural network as a powerful tool to assess both biochemical and histopathological data. We also show here that herbal protection against CIS-induced reproductive toxicity utilizing classic methodologies is validated using neural network analysis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / toxicity*
  • Ginkgo biloba / chemistry*
  • Male
  • Neural Networks, Computer*
  • Organ Size / drug effects
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Sperm Count
  • Sperm Motility / drug effects
  • Testis / drug effects*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Plant Extracts