Effect of α-chlorohydrin on cauda epididymis and spermatozoa of the rat and general physiological status

Abstract

The effect of a single injection of a high dose (90 mg/Kg) of α-chlorohydrin (3-chloro-1, 2-propanediol) on the metabolic activity of the spermatozoa and tubule of the rat cauda epididymis was investigated. The respiratory activity of the liver and kidney, and glucose metabolism of the latter organ were also studied. Forty-eight and 240 hours after injection, the oxygen uptake and motility of sperm flushed from the cauda was greatly reduced as was the amount of glucose utilized, the amount of glucose oxidized and the accumulation of lactic acid. By contrast, α-chlorohydrin had little effect on the respiratory activity of the flushed epididymal tubule, liver or kidney tissue, but stimulated glycolysis in the kidney. It is concluded that the metabolic effects of α-chlorohydrin are fairly specifically confined to the spermatozoa in the epididymis and this may account for the reduced fertility and motility. At the high dose used, the drug also caused loss of body weight, hypertrophy of the adrenal glands and an increase in the total leukocyte count.