Acrocomia aculeata oil: Beneficial effects on cyclophosphamide-induced reproductive toxicity in male rats.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the extracted oil of Acrocomia aculeata pulp in preventing or mitigating the reproductive toxicity induced by cyclophosphamide (CP) in male rats. Adult male rats were segregated into seven groups that received vehicle, 100 mg/kg/day of CP, or 10 mg/kg/day of ß-carotene or 3 or 30 mg/kg/day of A. aculeata oil co-administered with CP. A. aculeata oil exhibited a high content of ß-carotene. CP treatment induced reproductive toxicity in the animals, as it changed the reproductive organs weight, hormone levels, sperm counts and testicular histology. In contrast, co-administration of A. aculeata improved CP-induced alterations in these parameters. A. aculeata oil also increased the gene Ckit expression and normalised the antioxidant enzymes levels which were changed by CP. The A. aculeata oil is capable of protecting the male reproductive system from the adverse effects of CP, possibly by acting as an antioxidant and increasing the Ckit gene expression.

Assessment of the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic potential of Acrocomia aculeata in rats.

Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart. is a plant species commonly used as a foodstuff and also for treating diseases, since it contains high concentrations of antioxidant compounds and monounsaturated fatty acids. Considering its ethnopharmacological relevance, the aim of the present study was to assess the cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic effects of an oil extracted from the pulp of A. aculeata (OPAC) in rats. In addition, a chromatographic characterization of the fatty acids present in OPAC was performed. Male and female Wistar rats were treated orally with 125, 250, 500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg/body weight OPAC. The effects of OPAC ingestion were determined by performing the comet assay and micronucleus test. The comet assay data demonstrated that OPAC did not increase the frequency or rate of DNA damage in groups treated with any of the concentrations assessed compared to that in the negative control group. In the micronucleus test, the animals treated did not exhibit any cytotoxic or mutagenic changes in peripheral blood erythrocytes. The results demonstrated that OPAC did not exhibit cytotoxic, genotoxic, or mutagenic effects in Wistar rats, thereby increasing the evidence for the safety of oil extracted from this plant.

Cholinergic responses of seminal vesicles isolated from rats exposed perinatally to hydrocortisone.

This study was performed in order to investigate the cholinomimetic response of seminal vesicles isolated from rats treated with hydrocortisone acetate during perinatal life. At the adult phase, the body weight and the wet weight of the seminal vesicle of these animals were unchanged. However, these male rats exhibited a significant reduction in plasma testosterone concentration. A significant increase in the sensitivity of the seminal vesicle to acetylcholine was also observed. Despite this, there was a significant reduction in the maximum contractile response of the organ to this transmitter. These results indicate that exposure to hydrocortisone during the critical period of brain sexual differentiation has a long-term effect on testosterone production of male rats. In addition, physiological levels of cortisone in perinatal life are also essential to support the contractile response pattern of the seminal vesicle to acetylcholine in adult life, probably crucial to the reproductive process.

Neonatal inhalatory anesthetic exposure: reproductive changes in male rats.

We investigated the effects of an inhalatory anesthetic (ethyl ether) during the neonatal period of brain sexual differentiation on the later fertility and sexual behavior of male rats. Animals were exposed to ethyl ether immediately after birth. At adulthood, body weight, testes wet weight, and plasma testosterone levels were not affected; however, neonatal exposure to ether showed alterations on male fertility: a decrease in the number of spermatids and spermatozoa, an increase in the transit time of cauda epididymal spermatozoa and a decrease in daily sperm production. An alteration of sexual behavior was also observed: decreased male sexual behavior and appearance of homosexual behavior when the male rats were castrated and pretreated with exogenous estrogen. Probably, the ether delayed or reduced the testosterone peak of the sexual differentiation period, altering the processes of masculinization and defeminization of the hypothalamus. Our results indicate that perinatal exposure to ethyl ether during the critical period of male brain sexual differentiation, acting as endocrine disruptors, has a long-term effect on the fertility and sexual behavior of male rats, suggesting endocrine disruption through incomplete masculinization and defeminization of the central nervous system.