Possible role for glutathione-S-transferase in the oligozoospermia elicited by acute zearalenone administration in Swiss albino mice.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced by several species of Fusarium, commonly found in the soil in temperate and warm countries and is a frequent contaminant of cereal crops worldwide. Accordingly, it has been implicated in several mycotoxicosis in farm animals and in humans, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Therefore, the current study was aimed to investigate the effect of an acute dose of ZEA (40 mg/kg, p.o.) on reproductive and hematological parameters, as well as on markers of oxidative stress in liver, kidney and testes in mice. Adult Swiss albino male mice were exposed to a single oral administration of ZEA, and 48 h thereafter behavioral and biochemical tests were performed. No differences in locomotor or exploratory activity were observed in the open-field test. On the other hand, ZEA increased the number of leukocytes, segmented neutrophils, sticks, eosinophils, monocytes and decreased platelets and lymphocytes number. Moreover, ZEA drastically reduced the number and motility of live spermatozoa. Additionally, while levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), non-protein thiols (NPSH) and ascorbic acid in liver, kidney and testes were not altered by ZEA administration, superoxide dismutase activity increased in all tissues evaluated, catalase activity increased in the kidney, and glutathione-S-transferase activity decreased in kidney and testes. In summary, we showed that ZEA have acute toxic effects mainly in reproductive system of adult male Swiss albino mice and its effect probably is related to a reduced activity of GST and increased in SOD activity in testes.