Fenitrothion Alters Sperm Characteristics in Rats: Ameliorating Effects of
Palm Oil Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction |
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Authors: | Izatus Shima Taib Siti Balkis Budin Ahmad Rohi Ghazali Putri Ayu Jayusman Jamaludin Mohamed |
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Institution: | Program of Biomedical Science, School of Diagnostic and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
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Abstract: | Exposure to organophosphate insecticides such as fenitrothion (FNT) in agriculture and
public health has been reported to affect sperm quality. Antioxidants may have a potential
to reduce spermatotoxic effects induced by organophosphate. The present study was carried
out to evaluate the effects of palm oil tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) in reducing the
detrimental effects occurring in spermatozoa of FNT-treated rats. Adult male
Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four equal groups: a control group and groups of
rats treated orally with palm oil TRF (200 mg/kg), FNT (20 mg/kg) and palm oil TRF (200
mg/kg) combined with FNT (20 mg/kg). The sperm characteristics, DNA damage, superoxide
dismutase (SOD) activity, and levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA),
and protein carbonyl (PC) were evaluated. Supplementation with TRF attenuated the
detrimental effects of FNT by significantly increasing the sperm counts, motility, and
viability and decreased the abnormal sperm morphology. The SOD activity and GSH level were
significantly increased, whereas the MDA and PC levels were significantly decreased in the
TRF+FNT group compared with the rats receiving FNT alone. TRF significantly decreased the
DNA damage in the sperm of FNT-treated rats. A significant correlation between abnormal
sperm morphology and DNA damage was found in all groups. TRF showed the potential to
reduce the detrimental effects occurring in spermatozoa of FNT-treated rats. |
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Keywords: | antioxidant organophosphate oxidative stress spermatozoa vitamin E |
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