{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T01:04:44Z","timestamp":1790816684290,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]],"date-time":"2025-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753920000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Scientific Research Project of Colleges and Universities of Henan Province","award":["26A230005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["26A230005"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Zearalenone (ZEN), a mycotoxin commonly found in cereal crops and foods, induces testicular damage and disrupts gut microbial composition. Curcumin (CUR), a bioactive compound derived from turmeric, is known to enhance intestinal microbial balance and exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which CUR alleviates ZEN-induced reductions in sperm quality through the modulation of the gut microbiota\u2013testis axis. Forty-eight 6-week-old Balb\/c male mice were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: control (CON), CUR (200 mg\/kg body weight CUR), ZEN (40 mg\/kg body weight ZEN), and ZEN + CUR (200 mg\/kg CUR + 40 mg\/kg ZEN). The degree of sperm damage was quantified by assessing both the survival rate and the morphological integrity of the spermatozoa. CUR was found to mitigate ZEN-induced reductions in the testosterone levels, testicular structural damage, and disrupted spermatogenesis. Exposure to ZEN markedly perturbed the gut microbiota, characterized by increased relative abundances of Prevotella and Bacteroides and a concomitant reduction in Lactobacillus. These alterations were accompanied by pronounced activation of the IL-17A\u2013TNF-\u03b1 signaling axis, as demonstrated by elevated transcriptional and translational expression of pathway-associated genes and proteins. Co-administration of CUR effectively reinstated microbial homeostasis and mitigated ZEN-induced IL-17A pathway activation. In conclusion, ZEN induces testicular inflammation and reduced sperm quality by lowering testosterone levels and disrupting gut microbial balance, which drives the testicular IL-17A signaling pathway. CUR alleviates ZEN-induced testicular inflammation and sperm quality reduction by restoring beneficial gut microbes and testosterone levels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14152703","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,4]],"date-time":"2025-08-04T11:54:51Z","timestamp":1754308491000},"page":"2703","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Curcumin Attenuates Zearalenone-Induced Reproductive Damage in Mice by Modulating the Gut Microbe\u2013Testis Axis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Bangwang","family":"Peng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuaiju","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junlong","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongpeng","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhixiang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3851-3509","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1007\/s10658-020-02173-9","article-title":"Current status on the molecular biology of zearalenone: Its biosynthesis and molecular detection of zearalenone producing Fusarium species","volume":"159","author":"Nahle","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. 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