Life Science Journal, 2011;8(2) http://www.lifesciencesite.com http://www.sciencepub.net/life lifesciencej@gmail.com 828 Potential Health Impact of Black Tea against Na-F-Induced Alterations in Territorial Aggression, Sexual Behaviour and Fertility of Male Rats Heba S. El-lethey 1 *, and Iman B. Shaheed 2 1 Department of Animal Hygiene and Management, 2 Department of Pathology, Faculty of veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. * hellethey@yahoo.com Abstract: In an extension of previous work on sodium fluoride (Na-F) toxicity, the ameliorative effect of black tea on Na-F-induced behavioural and reproductive toxicity was evaluated in male rats in terms of territorial aggressive behaviour, sex behaviour, along with fertility indices. Oral administration of 100 ppm Na-F and 2% black tea to eighty weanling 32-days old male Wistar rats, randomly allotted into 4 groups of 20, were performed daily for 14- weeks treatment period in a 2 x 2 factorial manner. A marked suppression in all parameters of territorial aggression was seen in adult male Na-F-treated rats. This suppression was significantly alleviated when black tea was concurrently administered. Ingestion of black tea alone significantly improved territorial aggression responses, namely lateralization and boxing bouts. The ingested Na-F also suppress sexual behaviour in adult male rats expressed by a prolongation of first mount, intromission and ejaculation latencies, decrease in numbers of mounts, intromissions and ejaculations along with increased post-ejaculatory intervals. A profound ameliorative effect was noted for all abolished male sex behaviour when black tea solution was supplemented to Na-exposed rats. Black tea exhibited an aphrodisiac tendency when solitary administered to male rats, as reflected in significant shortening of mount and intromission latencies as well as increase in mount and intromission frequencies. This aphrodisiac activity was not associated with influence on ejaculation-related parameters. Furthermore, an obvious impairment in all fertility indices was detected in Na-F-treated males as displayed by reduced numbers of impregnations, implantations and viable fetuses accompanied by increased resorptions. This observed diminution in fertility was significantly mitigated by black tea. Similarly, the lessening effect of Na-F on relative weights of male sex organs was noticeably improved when black tea was given. Our histopathological investigations revealed severe degenerative changes in testes, seminal vesicles and prostate gland. Combined administration of black tea with Na-F resulted in marked amelioration of the pathological alterations. Our study denotes a powerful mitigative effect of black tea in combating behavioural and reproductive toxicity triggered by Na-F as signified by harmed aggressive and sexual behaviour together with abolished fertility in adult male rats. Our findings also evidently point toward the aphrodisiac property of black tea which might be of help in certain forms of sexual dysfunction in male individuals. [Heba S. El-lethey 1 , Mervat M. Kamel 1* and Iman B. Shaheed 2 Potential Health Impact of Black Tea against Na-F- Induced Alterations in Territorial Aggression, Sexual Behaviour and Fertility of Male Rats. Life Science Journal. 2011;8(2):828-839] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . Key words: Sodium fluoride, black tea, territorial aggression, sex behaviour, fertility, Wistar rats. 1. Introduction Major sources of individuals’ exposure to fluorides are the diet (food, water, beverages) and fluoridated dentifrices (toothpastes and other preparations for cleaning teeth). Exposure to fluoride has been reported to interfere with the functional status of several tissues and organs, causing toxic hazards, namely of reproductive effects (Al-Hiyasat et al., 2000; Dhar and Bhatnagar, 2009). Epidemiological studies have shown that there is an association of decreasing total fertility rate with increasing fluoride levels in drinking water (Freni, 1994). Additionally, previous hazard identification studies in male rodents have evidenced reproductive toxicity of sodium fluoride in concentrations higher than the permissible level (Narayana and Chinoy, 1994; Elbetieha et al., 2000; Chinoy and Sharma, 2000). However, so far these studies have focused mainly on structural and functional defects in spermatozoa (Kumar and Susheela, 1994; Chinoy and Sharma, 1998), a decrease in sperm count (Ghosh et al., 2002; Pushpalatha et al., 2005), disturbances in the levels of reproductive hormones (Ortiz-Perez et al., 2003), alterations in the epididymis and accessory reproductive glands (Chinoy and Sequeira, 1989; Kumar and Susheela, 1994; Tiwari and Pande, 2009) and interference with fertility (Chinoy and Sequeira, 1992; Elbetieha et al., 2000). In contrast to reproductive toxicity of fluoride, less is known about its effect on sexual behaviour, an androgen dependent behaviour. It is noteworthy that suppression of endogenous testosterone secretion has been reported following fluoride treatments (Huang et al., 2007; Reddy et al., 2007). Thus, the possibility cannot be excluded that fluoride might eliminate the expression of male sex behaviour. Also, androgens have long been recognized as modulators of aggression in male rats (Blanco et al., 1997). Many studies of androgens