Histo-morphological alterations in testis of goat (Capra hircus) induced by atrazine in vitro: evaluation of ameliorating effect of vitamin E

The aim of this study was to investigate the histomorphological alterations in goat testis which are induced by atrazine. Atrazine [2-chloro-4 (ethylamino)-6 (isopropylamino) -s-triazine] is an agricultural herbicide that are used to prevent pre and post emer- gence broadleaf weeds in crops such as maize and sugarcane but it has been proved that it interferes with hormonal activity of the humans and animal at extremely low doses. It has now been recognized as endocrine disruptor and thus affects the repro- ductive performance by reducing fertility. For this purpose, the testis from slaughtered mature goat (Capra hircus) were collected and the restoration effect of α-tocopherol (100 mol L-1) on degenerative alterations generated by atrazine have been evaluat- ed in vitro on sampled tissue. The seminiferous tubules in the experimental group treated with atrazine at dose levels of 1 nM or 100 nM showed histomorphological changes. Small vacuoles were found in the cytoplasm of spermatogonia after 4 hours of exposure to atrazine at a concentration of 1 nM. Chromolysis were also noticed in the spermatogonia and spermatids. The change detected in seminiferous tubules by 1 nM and 100 nM atrazine concentrations was decreased to some extent in the experimen- tal group treated with 1 nM and 100 nM atrazine doses combined with 0.1 nM Vitamin E (Vitamin E is best known for its an- tioxidant properties). In seminiferous tubules, vacuolization was considerably decreased, the basal lamina remained intact, and nucleus fragmentation was minimized as compared to tubules treated with single pesticide dosage. The results gathered in the current study suggest that Vitamin E therapy was able to reverse atrazine-induced derangements through the improvement of antioxidant capacity and endocrine function.