Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control 3 (2016) 152-156 Journal website: http://www.jfqhc.com To cite: Flehi-Slim I., Boughattas S., Belaïd-Nouira Y., Sakly A., Neffati F., Najjar M.F., Haouas Z., Ben Cheikh H. (2016). Toxicological effects of 30-day intake of malathion on the male reproductive system of Wistar rats. Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control. 3: 152-156. Toxicological Effects of 30-Day Intake of Malathion on the Male Reproductive System of Wistar Rats I. Flehi-Slim 1 , S. Boughattas 1* , Y. Belaïd-Nouira 1 , A. Sakly 1 , F. Neffati 2 , M.F. Najjar 2 , Z. Haouas 1 , H. Ben Cheikh 1 1. Research Unity of Genetic (02/UR/08-03), Laboratory of Histology and Cytogenetic, Faculty of Medicine, Monastir, Tunisia 2. Laboratory of Biochemistry-Toxicology, University Hospital of Monastir, Tunisia HIGHLIGHTS  Weight of rat testes treated from Malathion (MAL) was significantly lower than the control group.  No significant difference was found between body weight of the control and the treatment rats.  MAL induced histopathological changes in testes of rats and disturbance in sex hormones levels. ABSTRACT Background: Malathion (MAL) is a choice insecticide in the stored grain in different countries. The aim of the present study is to evaluate toxicological effects of 30-day intake of MAL on the male reproductive system of Wistar rats. Methods: This research was ethically approved by the local authority at Faculty of Medicine, Monastir, Tunisia. Three MAL treated groups received 1 ml corn oil contain- ing 1.3, 13.7, and 137 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. Body and testes weights, testosterone, Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) levels were measured. Histopathological sections were prepared from testes of animals and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and also Masson trichrome. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS for windows version 10. Results: A meaningful decrease (p<0.05) in the testes weight of treatment groups was observed compared to the control animals. However, no significant difference (p>0.05) was found between body weight of control and treatment groups. All the three MAL- treated rats had significantly (p<0.05) lower plasma FSH, LH, and testosterone levels than the control group. Some major histopathological changes were found in testes sec- tions of treatment groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that subchronic and relatively short time exposure of male Wistar rats to MAL can induce histopathological changes in testes and disturbance in sex hormones levels in a dose-dependent manner. Introduction Pesticides as a heterogeneous group of chemical products are widely used in producing crops to control pests such as insects, rodents, weeds, mold, etc. Organo- phosphate pesticides, the most used insecticides, are widely used in agriculture having high exposure possibil- ity for human or livestock especially through consump- * Corresponding author.  sbgh@mail.com tion of contaminated foodstuffs (Raghu et al., 2014; Rezg et al., 2010). Although, the primary toxicity associated with acute exposure to these pesticides is cholinergic symptom resulting from acetylcholinestrase inhibition, pesticides have usually numerous compound-specific chronic effects especially developmental abnormality, immunotoxicity, carcinogenesis, and also reproductive Article type Original article Keywords Malathion Testis Rats Toxicology Article history Received: 15 Jul 2016 Revised: 29 Sep 2016 Accepted: 13 Oct 2016 Acronyms and abbreviations MAL=Malathion LH=Luteinizing Hormone FSH=Follicle-Stimulating Hor- mone Downloaded from jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir at 21:07 +0330 on Saturday November 27th 2021