Protective effects of Juglans regia oil on lead acetate‐induced reprotoxicity in rats: an antioxidant, histological and computational molecular study

Abstract Background Lead (Pb) is a metal that affects many body systems, primarily the male reproductive system. This study aimed to examine the phytochemical profiling and beneficial effects of Juglans regia oil (JRO) in alleviating lead‐induced reprotoxicity‐associated oxidative injury in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups as follows: control group received no treatment, Pb group was exposed to 0.344 g kg −1 bw of Pb acetate, Pb + JRO group was co‐treated with Pb plus walnut oil (0.9 g kg −1 bw) and JRO group received walnut oil only. Results Pb‐treated rats showed significantly decreased gonado‐somatic index, count and viability of sperm. Testosterone levels decreased in Pb‐treated animals. Besides, Pb disrupted the oxidative/antioxidative status, the plasmatic lipase activity and testicular Pb content. Furthermore, Pb produced testis histopathological features, especially cell degeneration, atrophy and tubular disarrangement. Co‐treatment with JRO was found to be effective for recovering the increased testicular oxidative damage‐associated histological features in the Pb group. This was supported by the in silico modeling results. Conclusion The in silico analyses revealed that JRO compounds bound androgen receptor and RAC‐alpha serine/threonine kinase with high affinities, which together with pharmacokinetic properties and molecular interactions satisfactorily support the beneficial in vivo findings in the Pb + JRO group of rats. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.