α-Tocopherol restores semen quality in rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

Vet World Vol.15 February-2022 Article-11

Research Article

Veterinary World, 15(2): 316-323

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.316-323

Wurlina Wurlina¹, Imam Mustofa¹, Dewa Ketut Meles², Erma Safitri¹, Suherni Susilowati¹, Sri Mulyati¹, Budi Utomo¹, and Suzanita Utama¹

1. Division of Basic Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 601155, East Java, Indonesia.
2. Division of Veterinary Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 601155, East Java, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a persistent organic pollutant toxic to the human reproductive system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of α-Tocopherol administration on the male fertility parameters of a rat model exposed to TCDD.

Materials and Methods: Fifty healthy 12-week-old male rats were randomly divided into five groups. Rats in the control group were given corn oil twice daily in 4 h intervals. In the treatment groups, all rats were given TCDD at a dose of 700 ng/kg of body weight (BW)/day for 45 days. Four hours after receiving the TCDD, T0 rats were given corn oil, and T1, T2, and T3 rats were given α-Tocopherol at doses of 77, 140, and 259 mg/kg BW/day, respectively, for 45 days. On day 46, experimental animals were sacrificed to collect blood and testicular samples.

Results: TCDD exposure decreased superoxide dismutase activity, plasma membrane integrity, Leydig cell count, sperm cell count, sperm viability and motility, and increased malondialdehyde levels, serum testosterone levels, and sperm morphological abnormalities. The administration of α-Tocopherol mitigated the effects of TCDD exposure, and the 140 and 259 mg/kg BW/day treatments returned those male fertility parameters to normal levels.

Conclusion: The administration of 140 mg/kg BW/day α-Tocopherol restored male semen quality in rats exposed to TCDD. We found dynamics serum testosterone levels in rats exposed to TCDD that need to be further studied. Keywords: α-Tocopherol, dioxin, fertility parameters, pollutant, reproductive system.

Keywords: α-Tocopherol, dioxin, fertility parameters, pollutant, reproductive system.

How to cite this article: Wurlina W, Mustofa I, Meles DK, Safitri E, Susilowati S, Mulyati S, Utomo B, Utama S (2022) α-Tocopherol restores semen quality in rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, Veterinary World, 15(2): 316-323.

Received: 21-09-2021 Accepted: 12-01-2022 Published online: 14-02-2022

Corresponding author: E-mail: wurlina@fkh.unair.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.316-323

Copyright: Wurlina, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.