Received October 22, 2018
Accepted April 02, 2019

Objective: Preventing effect of Curcumin (Cur) against titanium dioxide nanoparticle (NTiO2)-induced mouse testicular damage was investigated in this study. Methods: NTiO2-intoxicated mice received 50 mg/kg of NTiO2 for 35 days. The Cur + NTiO2 group was pretreated with Cur (200 mg/kg) for 7 days prior to administering NTiO2. Sperm parameters, testosterone concentration, histological criteria, morphometric parameters and Johnsen's scoring were evaluated. Results: NTiO2 significantly reduced testicular weight, testosterone concentration, morphometric parameters, Johnsen's scoring and sperm quality (p < 0.01), as well as a significant increase in histological criteria. Pretreatment with Cur reduced the testicular weight, ameliorated morphometric parameters, increased Johnsen's scoring, elevated testosterone levels, and increased histological criteria such as vacuolization, detachment, and sloughing of germ cells into the seminiferous tubules. Sperm parameters including sperm count, motility, and percentage of abnormality were also effectively improved by Cur. Conclusion: Cur was found to have a potent protective effect against spermatogenesis defects induced by nanoparticles in mice.