Systematic review of the role of medicinal plants and derived components on reduction of cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity in male genital system

Despite having significant pharmaceutical effects on several diseases, cyclophosphamide, a chemical drug, is associated with several side effects limiting its use to some extent. This review article was aimed to review the protective effects of medicinal plants and the derived compounds from them on reducing the cyclophosplamide-induced side effects in male genital system and the role of the plants in reducing these side effects.
For this review article, the key words cyclophosplamide, male genital system, toxicity, cancer, chemotherapy, and side effects in combination with the terms medicinal plants, herbal medicines, and natural components were searched for in databases Information Sciences Institute, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Based on the inclusion criteria, 20 articles published from 2000 to 2015 were selected and included in the study.
Of 20 articles, 13 articles addressed plant extracts, 3 articles addressed plant active components, two articles addressed oil essences, and two articles addressed herbal medicines, and their basic properties, protective effect, and effective components on cyclophosplamide-induced toxicity in male reproductive system were discussed.
Findings of this study indicated that the plants with antioxidant components, such as flavonoids, are able to reduce the toxicity in testes due to prescription of cyclophosplamide that causes oxidative stress and increase in free radicals. Therefore, it is recommended that the plants with significant antioxidant effects are prescribed alongside with cyclophosplamide and their effects are compared with the plants and the components derived from them whose protective effects have been already examined.