Abstract
Environmental pollutants such as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) adversely affect reproductive system tissue differentiation and functions with exposure at intrauterine, neonatal or adult stages of life, thereby potentiating male infertility later in life. World health organization estimates a global infertility prevalent rate of 10-15%, and 20-30% among Nigerians, with male factor constituting about 40-50% of infertility cases. This study was designed to investigate the effect(s) of oral vitamins C and E on DEHP induced changes in some semen parameters and serum testosterone concentration in adult Wistar rats. Seventy (70) adult male Wistar rats weighing between 156-250 g were randomised into 7 experimental groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (group n=10). Animals in groups 1, 2 and 3 were treated with 0.02 mg, 20 mg, 200 mg oral DEHP/kg bw daily respectively, while those in groups 4, 5 and 6, in addition to the above DEHP treatments, were treated with 100 mg ascorbic acid and 67.5 mg α-tocopherol per kg bw daily respectively. Rats in group 7 served as Control and were treated with vehicle. All treatments lasted for 60 days. After, over night fasting, samples of semen and serum were obtained for analysis. Results obtained were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and analyzed for significant differences in means using one way ANOVA and Post Hoc test. Relative to the control reference values, groups exposed to oral DEHP had significant (p<0.05) reduction in sperm count, total sperm motility, active sperm motility, normal sperm morphology, serum testosterone concentration and serum super oxide dismutase levels to 31.70±18.68x106 cells/mL, 38.60±24.78%, 8.50±5.66%, 38.00±18.00%, 9.56±1.34 ng/mL and 0.017±0.0013 units respectively. Sluggish sperm motility and abnormal sperm morphology significantly (p˂0.01) increased to 39.70±13.05% and 68.50±18.42% respectively. In the groups that had DEHP co-treatments with oral ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol, all studied parameters tended to comparative indifference statistically, with the Controls values. This indicates a protective function against DEHP effects on the studied parameters. The study has shown therefore, that DEHP inflicts oxidative stress in the reproductive system which potentially suppresses serum testosterone concentration with attendant derangements in the qualitative and quantitative sperm cells in adult Wistar rats, and thereby enhancing male infertility. However, the antioxidants ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol protects the gonadal and sperm cells from the harmful effects of DEHP by ameliorating oxidative stress and improving male fertility. This implies that there is need to avoid prolonged exposure to DEHP while encouraging the daily intake of oral ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol.
Highlights
With the dawn of industrialization, fertility in man generally has been on the decline, attributed not just to social and biological factors such as changes in conceptive practices, diminished sexual activity or infective causes alone, but to observed poor semen quality among healthy young men [1]
Results obtained from the study at the end of treatment indicated that the parameters studied were adversely affected in the adult Wistar rat on exposure to oral di-(2ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), but ameliorated with the co-administration of ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol
These increases were not significantly different from the value of the Control group, implying that oral exposure to DEHP induces oligospermia; a condition that was reversed by co-treatment with oral Ascorbic acid (AA) and α-TCP in the adult Wistar rats
Summary
With the dawn of industrialization, fertility in man generally has been on the decline, attributed not just to social and biological factors such as changes in conceptive practices, diminished sexual activity or infective causes alone, but to observed poor semen quality among healthy young men [1]. The incidence of infertility has assumed an alarming proportion over the past three decades with a possible rising trend, despite the availability of new diagnostic and treatment facilities [2]. World health organization (WHO) estimates that sixty (60) to eighty (80) million couples globally currently suffer from infertility [3]. In sub-Saharan Africa, the infertility rate varies widely from region to region; between 9% to 21.2% [4]–[6]. A Nigerian study has shown that male factor infertility factor constitute about 25-40% of infertility cases [8], though the figure may vary from one part of the country to the other as an earlier study in the Northern part of the country suggested a male infertility rate of about 50% (Panti & Sununu, 2014)
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