Evaluation of zearalenone and α-zearalenol toxicity on boar sperm DNA integrity

• Published in: Journal of applied toxicology 2008-07, Vol.28 (5), p.681-688
• Main Authors: Tsakmakidis, Ioannis A., Lymberopoulos, Aristoteles G., Khalifa, Tarek A. A., Boscos, Constanten M., Saratsi, Aikaterini, Alexopoulos, Costas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acridine Orange; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; boar; Cell Nucleus - drug effects; Cell Nucleus - ultrastructure; Chromatin - drug effects; Chromatin - ultrastructure; chromatin integrity; DNA - drug effects; Fluorescent Dyes; in vitro; Male; Medical sciences; mycotoxin; Nucleic Acid Denaturation - drug effects; Plant poisons toxicology; sperm DNA; Sperm Motility - drug effects; Spermatozoa - drug effects; Swine; toxicity; Toxicology; zearalenone; Zearalenone - toxicity; Zeranol - analogs & derivatives; Zeranol - toxicity; Zona Pellucida - physiology
• ISSN: 0260-437X; 1099-1263
• DOI: 10.1002/jat.1322

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% CO2 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.