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Vitamin E fails to prevent bisphenol S induced testicular damage in diabetic rats
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  • Published: 06 March 2026

Vitamin E fails to prevent bisphenol S induced testicular damage in diabetic rats

  • Sheila I. Peña-Corona1,
  • Juan I. Chávez-Corona1,2,
  • Olga V. Ruiz-García3,
  • Claudia Fernández-Diez1,
  • José L. Cerbón-Gutiérrez4,
  • Dinorah Vargas-Estrada5,
  • José Pedraza-Chaverri3,
  • Socorro Retana-Márquez6,
  • Alonso Sierra-Reséndiz5,
  • David Quintanar-Guerrero2,
  • Gerardo Leyva-Gómez1,
  • Javad Sharifi-Rad7,8,9 &
  • …
  • C. Adriana Mendoza-Rodríguez3 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

  • 993 Accesses

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Biochemistry
  • Diseases
  • Endocrinology
  • Physiology

Abstract

Bisphenol S (BPS) is a recognized environmental contaminant that harms reproductive organs and fertility, affecting human health worldwide. Over the last few decades, the search for a compound that mitigates its harmful effects has increased. Vitamin E has not been evaluated in diabetic rats as a study model. We assessed for the first time the use of Vitamin E as a potential ameliorant compound. We used 26 Wistar rats, and assigned it randomly in five groups: (1) healthy rats (Ctrl, n = 6); (2) diabetic rats without treatment (Ctrl-D, n = 5); (3) diabetic rats treated with Vitamin E (100 mg/kg bw/day, VitE-D, n = 5); (4) diabetic rats treated with BPS (100 mg/kg bw/day, BPS-D, n = 5); and, (5) diabetic rats receiving a combination of Vitamin E (100 mg/kg bw/day) and BPS (100 mg/kg bw/day) (VitE + BPS-D, n = 5). All doses were administered orally (p.o.). We evaluated its effect on serum estradiol and testosterone levels, testis cellular apoptosis, antioxidant enzyme activity, and sperm and testicular histologic characteristics. BPS increases oxidative stress, promotes cell apoptosis, provokes structural changes in seminiferous tubules, and negatively affects spermatogenesis and sperm quality. As a result of our study, co-administration of Vitamin E did not reduce the negative impact provoked by BPS; indeed, in some cases, the vitamin exacerbated the injury. The beneficial effects of VitE on testosterone serum levels were nullified when combined with BPS. Our results show the dangers of BPS to male reproductive health in the diabetes model and stress the necessity for improved strategies to mitigate its deleterious impacts.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge MSc. Omar Noel Medina for providing technical support in sample processing for antioxidant evaluation, and MVZ Lucía Macias and Francisco Sánchez for their assistance in animal handling. Sheila Irais Peña-Corona (CVU:495850) acknowledges the Postdoctoral Program Scholarship of Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación ‘Estancias Posdoctorales por México 2022; Estancia PosdoctoralAcadémica Inicial 2022’. Juan Isaac Chávez-Corona is a PhD student in the Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias de la Producción y de la Salud Animal de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Funding

This paper was supported by the Programa de Apoyo a la Investigación y al Posgrado (PAIP; grants 5000–9141 and 5000–9105), Facultad de Química, UNAM; by Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (PAPIIT, IN202725, IN204722), UNAM; by Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos para Innovar y Mejorar la Educación (PAPIME, PE205524), and grant 319631 Fronteras de la Ciencia 2022, CONACyT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Sheila I. Peña-Corona, Juan I. Chávez-Corona, Claudia Fernández-Diez & Gerardo Leyva-Gómez

  2. Laboratorio de Investigación y Posgrado en Tecnología Farmacéutica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México-FESC, Campus 1, Cuautitlán Izcalli, 54714, Mexico

    Juan I. Chávez-Corona & David Quintanar-Guerrero

  3. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México

    Olga V. Ruiz-García, José Pedraza-Chaverri & C. Adriana Mendoza-Rodríguez

  4. Departamento de Reproducción, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    José L. Cerbón-Gutiérrez

  5. Departamento de Fisiología y Farmacología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Dinorah Vargas-Estrada & Alonso Sierra-Reséndiz

  6. Departamento de Biología de la Reproducción, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana- Unidad Iztapalapa, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Socorro Retana-Márquez

  7. Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador

    Javad Sharifi-Rad

  8. Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea

    Javad Sharifi-Rad

  9. Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos y Universitarios del Golfo, Veracruz, Mexico

    Javad Sharifi-Rad

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  1. Sheila I. Peña-Corona
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All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation, or in all these areas. That is revising or critically reviewing the article; giving final approval of the version to be published; agreeing on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and, confirming to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Sheila I. Peña-Corona, Gerardo Leyva-Gómez, Javad Sharifi-Rad or C. Adriana Mendoza-Rodríguez.

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Peña-Corona, S.I., Chávez-Corona, J.I., Ruiz-García, O.V. et al. Vitamin E fails to prevent bisphenol S induced testicular damage in diabetic rats. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42624-7

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  • Received: 03 September 2025

  • Accepted: 26 February 2026

  • Published: 06 March 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42624-7

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Keywords

  • Contaminant environmental
  • Bisphenol S
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Oxidative stress
  • Vitamin E (α-tocopherol)
  • Reproductive toxicity
  • Blood-testis barrier
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