Protective Effect of Vitamin E on Nicotine Induced Reproductive Toxicity in Male Rats

Abstract

The current study assessed the protective role of vitamin E in alleviating the detrimental effect of nicotine on reproductive functions in male rats. Twenty four male albino rats were divided into four groups of six rats. Control group was treated orally with 1.1 ml/kg body weight normal saline, nicotine treated group received 1.0 mg/kg body weight of nicotine, vitamin E treated group received 100 mg/kg body weight of vitamin E while nicotine plus vitamin E treated group received 1.0 mg/kg body weight of nicotine plus 100 mg/kg body weight of vitamin E. The administration of nicotine and vitamin E were done orally for 40 days. Nicotine caused a  significant reduction (p<0.05) in sperm count, sperm motility, sperm viability and normal sperm cells. It also caused a significant reduction (p<0.05) in serum  testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels. There was impairment in testicular histology of rats treated with nicotine. Vitamin E  improved the reduction in sperm characteristics, hormone levels and testicular alterations observed in nicotine treated rats. The study shows that nicotine exerts significant deleterious effects on male reproductive system and the concurrent administration of vitamin E ameliorated these detrimental effects.

Keywords: Nicotine, Vitamin E, Sperm toxicity, FSH, LH, Testosterone