THE IMPACT OF NONYLPHENOL (NP) ON THE SPERMATOZOA MOTILITY IN VITRO

Abstract

Nonylphenol (NP) is an environmental endocrine disruptor that has toxic, estrogenic and carcinogenic effects in fish, amphibians and mammals. NP can result in male reproductive dysfunction, altered testicular development, decreased male fertility and a decline of spermatozoa count. The target of this in vitro study was to determine the effect of NP on the spermatozoa motility. Specifically, we examined the dose- and time-dependent effect of nonylphenol (1, 10, 100 and 200 µg/mL) dissolved either in 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or 0.1% ethanol (ETOH) on the motility of bovine spermatozoa during several time periods (0 h, 2 h, 4 h and 6 h). The spermatozoa motility was determined by CASA (Computer Assisted Semen Analyzer) system using the Sperm VisionTM program. The results showed a decreased spermatozoa motility in all experimental groups with the addition of NP. Significant differences (P<0.001 and P<0.05) between the control group and all experimental groups were recorded. The lowest motility of bovine spermatozoa was found at doses > 100 µg/mL of NP in comparison with the control group. The obtained data indicate that the exposure to high doses of NP has the negative effect on spermatozoa motility.