17 B. Büyük N. Demir H. A. Eroğlu Ö. Öztopuz Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JAPS 20232023/03/24 33 2 389-396 1018-7081 https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2023.2.0629 <p><em>Lentinus edodes</em>&nbsp;has been cultivated and used as food and medicine in far eastern countries.The present study aimed to reveal whether&nbsp;<em>L.edodes</em>&nbsp;that is used for different purposes has a toxic effect on the male genital system and to investigate its relationship with male infertility by showing its effects on sperm parameters. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups as Control (C), Low-dose (LD) and High-dose (HD). Rats in Control were administered saline physiological once a day for 7 days. The LD and HD groups received 100 and 400mg/kg of&nbsp;<em>L.edodes</em>&nbsp;extract, respectively, once daily for 7 days. At the end of 7 days of administration of treatments, semen analysis, micronucleus analysis, gene expression levels and testicular Johnsen scoring was performed. Comparisons between groups without normal distribution were analyzed using Kruskal&ndash;Wallis variance analysis and those between groups with normal distribution were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey&rsquo;s test. P values of &lt;0.05 were considered statistically significant. It is demonstrated that both low and high doses of extract significantly reduced spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules found in the testicles of rats. In addition, high-dose administration resulted in decreased total sperm counts, whereas the progressive and non-progressive sperm motility counts were significantly decreased in both experimental groups. The gene expression levels of Casp-3 and TNF-&alpha; were increased in both the LD and HD groups compared with that in the C. Oral administration of low and high doses of&nbsp;<em>L.edodes</em> led to reduced spermatogenesis in the testicles, tissue damage to the testicle and decreased motile and total sperm counts.</p> Infertility, Lentinus edodes, Male Rat, Shiitake mushrooms, Testis Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=VS-21-0029