Background and Objectives: Hypertension has been
reported to be associated with erectile and testicular
dysfunction. This study aimed to evaluate the role
of the anti-hypertensive drug, captopril, on erectile
and testicular function in L-NAME-induced hypertensive
rats.
Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into
3 groups including control group received tap water,
L-NAME group received L-NAME at dose 40 mg/kg/day
for five weeks and captopril group received L-NAME
and captopril at dose 5 mg/kg/day for the last two
weeks. At the end of the study, systolic blood pressure,
erectile response to nerve stimulation, sperm
concentration, sperm motility, and oxidative stress
markers were determined.
Results: L-NAME administration caused high blood
pressure and decreased erectile response to nerve
stimulation, reduced sperm concentrations, and sperm
motility in rats. Moreover, the high level of vascular
superoxide production, plasma, and tissue malondialdehyde,
and low level of plasma nitric oxide metabolites
were also observed in hypertensive rats
compared to control rats (p<0.05). Treatment with
captopril alleviated these reproductive alterations
caused by L-NAME.
Conclusion: Captorpil improved erectile dysfunction
and sperm quality in L-NAME-induced hypertensive
rats. The possible mechanism may associate with its
antihypertensive and antioxidant properties