Melatonin and Phoenix dactylifera attenuates Bisphenol A induced Testicular and sperm toxicity in Male Wistar Rats

Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by the lack of ability of a noncontraceptive couple to conceive after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Bisphenol A(BFA) which is one of the most widely used industrial chemical in the production of plastic materials has been associated with male infertility by causing increase in reactive oxygen species level and oxidative stress, melatonin and phoenix dactylifera (date palm) has shown to have many useful medicinal properties, including antioxidant effects. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of melatonin and Phoenix dactylifera on the cellular changes associated with bisphenol A induced testicular and androgen toxicity in male Wistar rats. Twenty- five (25) adult male Wistar rat with a weight range of 120- 150g were randomly divided into five groups of five rats each in this research study. Group 1 received distilled water orally, Group 2 received BFA only; 4 mg/kg orally, Group 3 received BFA; 4 mg/kg plus melatonin; 10mg/kg, orally, Group 4 received BFA; 4mg/kg plus date palm; 500mg/kg, orally and Group 5 received BFA; 4mg/kg plus melatonin; 10mg/kg and date palm; 500mg/kg, orally. Administration was done for 14 days. The animals were humanely sacrificed using chloroform, 24 hours after last administration. The testes and epididymis were dissected following abdominal incision. The epididymis was used for semen analysis while the testes was processed for histological analysis. The data was presented as mean values ± SEM and analyzed by ANOVA using the SPSS package version 25 software. Differences were considered significant at p<0.05. Bisphenol A administration caused significant increase in the body weight. There was also a reduction in sperm parameters with degenerative changes in the seminiferous tubules of the testes in the BFA treated group compared to the control. However, administration of melatonin and phoenix dactylifera showed significant improvement in sperm parameters and restored the richness of the histology of the testes tissues.

Key Words: Bisphenol A, infertility, P. dactilifera, melatonin, testes, epididymis, sperm