University of Guilan Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences 1735-3033 2024 01 21 Histological and histochemical comparative study on the effects of fasting and a ketogenic diet on the male reproductive system in mice 1 11 7463 10.22124/cjes.2024.7463 EN Asma Kadhem Obed Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Misan, Maysan, Iraq Ali Khalaf Ali Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Misan, Maysan, Iraq Journal Article 2024 01 21 Diet is one of the most important variables that control reproduction. Fasting is a kind of physical stress and can cause oxidative stress. Fasting can affect the formation of sperm. The ketogenic diet consists of about 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. It is similar to fasting as it leads to increased ROS. This study aimed to compare histological and histochemical alterations in the male reproductive system between the fasting and ketogenic diet groups. In this study, 120 male mice were used. They were divided into three groups: (i) the control group, they were given regular diets; (ii) the fasting group, which were given one meal per day; and (iii) the ketogenic diet group which were subjected to the keto diet. Each group consisted of 40 male mice, average age 8-12 weeks, and average weight of 28 g. The experiment lasted 8 weeks. Ten male mice from each group were killed at the end of every two weeks to obtain organs (testes and epididymis) to prepare tissue sections for microscopic examination. In this study, PAS stain was used. The results of the histological study showed the presence of histological alterations in each of testis and epididymis in both groups. The results of the histochemical study showed the interaction of the basement membrane of the seminiferous tubules in the testis with PAS ranged from weak to strong in the fasting group, while in the ketogenic diet ranged moderate to strong, albeit the reaction of the basement membrane of the epididymal tubules with PAS was strong in the two groups for eight weeks.                                    .                                                                                                                     https://cjes.guilan.ac.ir/article_7463_f8f24efe4d028efb440ae6bea8cd57c9.pdf