engleski

Multigeneration toxicity test of atrazine on reproductive capability of male rats

There is a growing evidence of toxic influences of atrazine, a widely used agricultural herbicide, on human and animal health. Even though herbicide atrazine is declared to be a low toxic compound, its presence in the environment, its possible ingestion via the food chain and direct accidental or occupational exposure to it may present a risk for the reproductive processes. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of atrazine on male rat reproductive function by determining the testicular and epididymal sperm number and sperm motility after 60 days treatment with atrazine dose of 30 mg/kg b.w. twice a week, and the reproductive capability of the treated males mated with intact females in F1 and F2 generations. The analysis of epididymal sperm number and sperm mobility showed a decrease for 46% and 78.3%, respectively. Testicular sperm number, expressed as number of sperm motility per 500 Sertoli cells, was not changed compared to control animals. When atrazine treated males (F0) were mated with intact females, the number of inseminations decreased for 33.3% and and the number of pregnancies for 44.4% in comparison with the control values. In F1 generation the decrease was smaller, 22.2% and 33.3%. Total number of survived offsprings in F1 generetion was decreased in atrazine treated group for 25.7% vs. controls, while in F2 generation was close to the control values. The number of survived male offsprings (F1) from atrazine treated male F0 rats was decreased for 52.9%, while in F2 generation the decrease was 39%. The present results show that the exposure to pesticides like atrazine, even declared to be slightly toxic compounds, may present a risk for the reproductive processes with the consequences on the reproductive capability of males.

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nije evidentirano