Comparative study of the effect of taurine, caffeine, and /or paracetamol on male fertility and teratogenicity in rats

Abstract

Caffeine (CF) is one of the popular nutrients that have been implicated as a risk factor for infertility. Taurine (TAU) is the most abundant free amino-acid present in mammalian tissues and cells. Paracetamol (PCM) is an effective oral analgesic. The present study represented to evaluate the effects of CF, TAU and /or PCM on male fertility in rat and the development of their fetuses. The 1st group was kept as a normal control received distilled water. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th groups received orally 250 mg / kg, 40 mg / kg and 270 mg/ kg of TAU, CF and PCM, respectively. In addition, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th groups received TAU+CF, TAU+PCM, CF+PCM and TAU+CF+PCM, respectively, for 45th consecutive days. Then blood samples were taken to determine the testosterone and FSH level, and total pro-oxidant. Moreover, in testes, malondialdehyde and nitrite/nitrate were estimated. Besides, the abnormality of sperms, sperm counts and percentage of sperm motilities were evaluated. These males were allowing to mated with untreated female rats to determined the rate of pregnancy and study any malformation in their fetuses. The results revealed that each of CF and/ or PCM decreased the weights of fetuses, as well as sperm counts and motilities significantly. Besides, percentages of head and tail abnormalities were increased in CF and/or PCM. The histopathological examination revealed presence of marked degenerative changes in testes in CF and/or PCM-treated groups. In conclusion, we observed that TAU almost improved undesirable effects induced by PCM or/and CF.