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Evaluation of zearalenone and α ‐zearalenol toxicity on boar sperm DNA integrity
Author(s) -
Tsakmakidis Ioannis A.,
Lymberopoulos Aristoteles G.,
Khalifa Tarek A. A.,
Boscos Constanten M.,
Saratsi Aikaterini,
Alexopoulos Costas
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.1322
Subject(s) - zearalenone , boar , motility , semen , sperm motility , andrology , sperm , mycotoxin , incubation , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , food science , medicine , genetics
This study aimed at investigating the in vitro effects of zearalenone (zen) and α ‐zearalenol ( α ‐zen) on motility and nuclear chromatin integrity (NCI) of boar spermatozoa. Mycotoxins were tested, at levels ranging from 10 to 30 µg ml −1 of diluted semen. Four boars were used for semen collection (eight replicates per boar, four per mycotoxin). After the addition of zen or α ‐zen, semen samples were incubated for 4 h at 38.5 °C, 5% CO 2 and 96% humidified air. Motility and NCI were assessed at 0 and 4 h of incubation. No significant differences were noticed in motility among the experimental groups ( P > 0.05) for all tested boars. Chromatin instability was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in spermatozoa of only one boar treated with zen and α ‐zen independently of the dose. In conclusion, under our experimental conditions, zen and α ‐zen did not affect the motility of boar sperm, whereas the effects of these toxins on sperm NCI were individual‐dependent. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.