Over the past decades the male gonad has been insulted by a lot of substances and this resulted to the poor quality of spermatozoa leading to infertility, among such substances are alcohol and nicotine. Alcohol and nicotine are the two most frequently used drugs in the world, and they are often used together. This study was carried out to investigate the combined effects of alcohol and nicotine on reproductive parameters in male adult rats. The rats were divided into four groups and were treated for a period of 6 weeks. Group 1 served as the control and received distilled water. Group 2 was administered alcohol 3g/kg bw as 40% v/v. Group 3 was administered 1.0mg/kg bw nicotine. Group 4 was administered 3g/kg alcohol plus 1.0mg/kg nicotine. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation; blood was collected via cardiac puncture. Semen collected from the epididymis was analyzed for sperm profile. Serum Gonadotrophins and testosterone assays were also carried out. Nicotine caused a significant decrease in body weight while alcohol caused a significant increase in body weight. There was an insignificant increase in testicular and epididymal weights of rats gavaged with alcohol plus nicotine. Sperm motility and count were significantly reduced while percentage sperm abnormality were significantly increased in all treated groups. The hormonal profile were also significantly reduced in rats treated with alcohol, nicotine, and alcohol plus nicotine when compared with the control group. Key words: Alcohol,nicotine, infertility, spermatozoa, FSH, LH and Testosterone, Male rats.
Physiology 2014 (London, UK) (2014) Proc Physiol Soc 31, PCB154
Poster Communications: Effects of oral administration of alcohol and nicotine on male reproductive parameters in male rats
C. O. Akintayo1,2, S. O. Akinsomisoye2, S. A. Salami2, Y. O. Raji2
1. Physiology, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. 2. Department of Physiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria.
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Where applicable, experiments conform with Society ethical requirements.