Assessment of alteration of reproductive system in vivo induced by subchronic exposure to benzo(a)pyrene via oral administration.

The objective of this study was to assess whether subchronic exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) via oral ingestion alter endpoints of the reproductive system of mice. Hsd: ICR (CD1) 10-week-old males (n = 8) were randomly assigned to the exposure group and control group. Mice were administered BaP for 30 and 60 days by daily gavage at doses of 1, 10, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight per day. At the end of the experiments, mice were anesthetized and reproductive organs, including testes, seminal vesicles, prostate, and cauda epididymis, were removed and examined. Spermatozoa quality and DNA strand breaks were assessed-1 and 10 mg/kg/day of BaP for 30 and 60 days did not significantly induce altered morphology or weights of testes, prostate, seminal vesicle, and epididymis, and spermatozoa quality of mice; 100 mg/kg/day of BaP for 60 days decreased weights of testes, seminal vesicle, and cauda epididymis. BaP exposure also significantly decreased motility, normal head morphology, vitality, and concentration of mature spermatozoa. In addition, BaP exposure induced a significant increase in DNA strand breaks.