The Ethanol Extract of Tangse Liberica Coffee (Coffea liberica) Inhibited the Reduction of Leydig Cell Number and Testosterone Levels in Male Wistar Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Exposed to Ultraviolet B Light

Abstract

Background: Aging is a complex mechanism related to various factors including free radicals. Free radicals that occur due to exposure to ultraviolet light can cause oxidative stress and damage the spermatogenesis process, including Leydig cells and testosterone. Therefore, antioxidants play a very important role in inhibiting these reactions, which are abundant in coffee. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the ethanol extract of Tangse liberica coffee (Coffea liberica) in inhibiting the decrease in Leydig cell number and testosterone levels in male Wistar (Rattus norvegicus) rats exposed to Ultraviolet B light. Methods: This study includes a post-test-only control group type of laboratory experimental study. The research group was divided into three groups, namely positive control (without giving coffee), treatment 1 (giving coffee extract 216 mg/kgBW), and treatment 2 (giving coffee extract 432 mg/kg BW). A total of 30 rats were used in this study and exposed to UV-B 0.225 MW/cm² 8 hours per day for 28 days. Testosterone assessment was carried out by examining blood specimens and Leydig cell counts were carried out histologically with Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. One-way ANOVA analysis and Kruskal Wallis test followed by post hoc test were performed in this study with a significance level of 95%. Results: The result showed a significant difference in the number of Leydig cells between the study groups (p = 0.016) with the highest mean in group 1, 48.27 9.12 cells/LFoV. The same thing also happened to the difference in testosterone levels between groups (p < 0.001) with the most dominant mean in treatment group 2 being 76.42 nmol/L. Conclusion: The conclusion of this research is the administration of the ethanol extract of Tangse liberica coffee (Coffea liberica) can inhibit the decrease in Leydig cells number and testosterone levels in male Wistar (Rattus norvegicus) rats exposed to Ultraviolet B light.