Abstract
Background: Lifestyle factors, including environmental and occupational exposure, have a key role in reproductive health status and may impact fertility. Formaldehyde (FA) is a suspected reproductive toxicant, which may cause significant adverse effects on the reproductive system. This study was aimed at detecting the impact of FA and the possible protective role of vitamin E on the male reproductive system in rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control rats, rats treated with vehicle (corn-oil), rats treated with 10 mg/kg/day FA (FAt), and rats treated with FA plus 30 mg/kg/day vitamin E plus vehicle (FAt+ vitamin E) for two weeks. After treatment, sex horÂmone levels were examined using ELISA. Moreover the count, morphology, and motility of sperm, were observed. Results: The sperm count and the percentage of rapid progressive sperm were significantly decreased in rats in the FAt-treated group compared with those in the control and vehicle-treated groups (p<0.05). Vitamin E treatment significantly improved the parameÂters examined in the FAt+ vitamin E group (29.85±8.62 vs. 10.04±4.79 for sperm count and 60.50±5.67 vs. 42.19±8.02 for sperm motility). Moreover, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels mildly decreased in the FA exposure group, although the difference was not statisÂtically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that FA exposure had a negative impact on sperm parameters and some reproductive hormones in rats and vitaÂmin E attenuated the deleterious impact of FA on the reproductive system of adult male rats. [GMJ.2017;6(4):330-7] DOI: 10.22086/gmj.v6i4.904
Highlights
Infertility can present as a life crisis and cause psychological distress [1]
There was a significant increase in the mean value of the sperm count of rats that received 30 mg/kg vitamin E daily for two weeks when compared with rats that had received only FA (P=0.001, Table 1)
Vitamin E treatment significantly increased the percentage of rapid progressive sperm in rats of the FAt+ vitamin E group when compared to those of the FAt group (P
Summary
Infertility can present as a life crisis and cause psychological distress [1]. There have been serious concerns about the negative impact of environmental pollutants on human fertility [2]. Lifestyle factors including environmental and occupational exposure to toxicants have a key role in reproductive health status and may impact on fertility [3]. Among all the environmental pollutants, formaldehyde (FA) with more than 21 million pounds produced worldwide annually [4], is a major industrial chemical It has been widely used for over 60 years in the production of resins, adhesives, and plastics [5,6]. Lifestyle factors, including environmental and occupational exposure, have a key role in reproductive health status and may impact fertility. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that FA exposure had a negative impact on sperm parameters and some reproductive hormones in rats and vitamin E attenuated the deleterious impact of FA on the reproductive system of adult male rats.
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