The impact of organic hydroperoxides on rat testicular tissue and epididymal sperm

Abstract

To investigate the in vivo effects of organic hydroperoxides on testicular tissue and epididymal sperm. Wistar rats (males aged 10–12 weeks) were randomly divided into nine groups and received standard rat chow and water. Animals were injected intraperitoneally with either saline ( 0.5 mL), t-butyl hydroperoxide (tbHP) (5 μmol L-1, 10 μmol L-1, 20 μmol L-1 and 40 μmol L-1; 0.5 mL) or cumene hydroperoxide (cHP) (2.5 μmol L-1, 5 μmol L-1, 10 μmol L-1 and 20 μmol L-1; 0.5 mL) over a 60-day period. Results: It was found that the epididymal sperm concentration and motility of the cHP (10 μmol L-1 and 20 μmol L-1) and tbHP (20 μmol L-1 and 40 μmol L-1) groups were significantly decreased as compared to the saline group. Furthermore, in these groups when compared to the saline group, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentration and glutathione (GSH) activity were also decreased, whereas the lipid peroxidation (LPO) increased in both testicular tissue and epididymal sperm. In addition epididymal sperm motility correlated negatively to LPO and positively with SOD and GSH.