REPROTOXICITY AND GENOTOXICITY BY ARSENIC ENSUING TO MALE INFERTILITY IN MALE MUS MUSCULUS

Arsenic has become a major problem in arsenic contaminated areas today. Its consequences on human health have been increasing with an alarming rate. Apart from toxicological effects caused by arsenic accumulation in the body, it causes several disorders including male infertility. Arsenic has been implicated to expedite the generation of ROS and hence lipid per-oxidation leading to DNA damage, apoptosis, and malfunction of several proteins and enzymes. Reduced number of sperm cells and testosterone level is evident in myriad of literatures. Swiss albino mice were grouped as control and arsenic treated. Weight of testes of mice after arsenic treatment was found to be lower than that of control group with p-value <0.0001. Similarly, sperm count and testosterone levels were also lower in arsenic administered group as compared to control group with significance < 0.0001. Unlikely, MDA level in arsenic treated mice was higher than control mice (p-value<0.0001). Moreover, histological sections unravels significant issues related to arsenic toxicity and DNA damage can easily be traced in testes of arsenic treated mice. In conclusion, arsenic, being a major toxic agent, has been observed to be a causative agent of male infertility. In addition to Low sperm count, testosterone level and high level of oxidative stress, degeneration of spermatozoa and disorientation in arrangement of luminal epithelium in histological sections and DNA damage in testicular tissue help us put forth that arsenic accumulation is a potent causative agent for male infertility and it should be taken seriously.