Abstract

Objective: To determine the effects of whole wheat on serum cortisol, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, testosterone, and testicular histology in a stress-induced model of male Sprague-Dawley rats.
Methodology: This randomized controlled trial was carried out at Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with the NIH, Islamabad. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats (5 weeks old, 200–300 g) were included. They were divided randomly into an experimental and a Control group. The experimental group underwent 6 hours of daily immobilization stress for 4 weeks using wooden restrainers to induce chronic stress. Post-stress, these rats were split into a Positive Control group (standard diet) and a Wheat-Treated group (whole wheat diet for 6 weeks).
Blood samples were collected at week 0 (baseline), week 4 (post-stress), and week 10 (end of study) to measure serum cortisol, FSH, and testosterone (ng/mL). Testicular histology was also evaluated. Data were analyzed by means of one-way ANOVA followed by Post hoc Tukey’s test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The wheat-treated group showed significantly lower cortisol and higher FSH and testosterone levels (p

Key words: Stress, FSH, wheat, cortisol.