Effect of carbosulfan pesticide and selenium on some semen characteristics and serum testosterone in male rabbits

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the hazardous effects of carbosulfun pesticide on the level of serum testosterone and on semen quality in male New Zealand rabbits, and to determine whether selenium can alleviate these effects when given to the treated animals. Carbosulfan was given orally to animals in two doses (1/100 LD50 and 1/10 LD50 per kg body weight) weekly, while selenium (0.3 mg per kg body weight) was given alone or in combination with carbosulfan. The experiment was divided into three periods of 6 weeks each as follows: preliminary, treatment and recovery. Semen and blood samples were collected weekly and biweekly throughout experiment, respectively. Semen analyses indicated significant decreases in ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total sperm output, sperm motility and fructose content. This was associated with a significant decline in the level of serum testosterone in the treated animals. Meanwhile pesticide treatment caused increases in the percentages of abnormal and dead spermatozoa, sperm without acrosomes and methylene-blue reduction time. Selenium combined with carbosulfan reduced the detrimental effects of the pesticide in most of the measured parameters.