1 Document heading doi: Exposure to 1800 MHz GSM-like radiofrquency electromagnetic field reduces follicular development and overall fertility of female rats Ali S. H. Alchalabi 1 , Erkihun Aklilu 1 , Abd Rahman Aziz 1 , F. Malek 2 , S. H. Ronald 2 , Mohd Azam Khan 1 1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UMK City Campus, Pengkalan Chepa, Locked Bag36, 16100 Kota Bharu, Kelantan 2 School of Electrical System Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received Received in revised form Accepted Available online Keywords: Electromagnetic field Female fretility Ovarian follicles Oxidative stress *Corresponding author: Contact address: Ali Saeed Al-Chalabi, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia. Tel: +601129147731 E-mail: alisaeedchalaby@yahoo.com 1. Introduction These days, most human environments are immersed in an ocean of huge amounts of electromagnetic waves. These electromagnetic waves has two main sources, natural and man- made. Among the man-made sources are mobile phones and base stations, television and radio broadcasting facilities, radar, medical equipments, microwave ovens and radiofrequency heaters and diverse assortments of other electronic devices in our living and working environments. Radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF- EMF) refers to the frequency range from 3 KHz – 300 GHz i.e. microwave range[1,2]. Radiation emitted by cellular phones consist of electromagnetic waves within the microwave and radio waves range at different frequencies. This type of radiation is considered as non-ionizing radiation having low energy, long wave lenth and low frequency. Based on epidemiological data[3,4], there are potential health hazards such as the risk of leukemia in children and brain tumors in adults where electromagnetic radiation (EMR) was implied as a factor. On this and other bio-effects that were reported as critical issues by the world health orgnization have led to increasing fear of as well as interest in EMR[5]. Reproduction is a critical function for the perpetuation of organisms. Damages to reproductive organs can cause subfertility and abnormality in embryonic development. Several non-infectious factors including exposures to non-ionizing EMF especially RF fields used in mobile communications have been suggested as potential risk factors leading to infertility[6]. Exogenous and endogenous oxidants or free radicals are the major cause of over a hundred human and Objective: To investigate the effects of 1800 MHz Global system for mobile communications (GSM)-like RFR exposure on female rats’ fertility. Methods: The study was conducted on nine groups of Sprague- Dawley rats (20 rats/group). Control group and exposure groups which exposed to EMF 1 hr/day and 2 hr/ day for 15, 30 and 60 days respectively. Animals were whole body exposed to electromagnetic field using GSM-like radiofrequency at SAR level 0.048 W/kg. Immediately after the last exposure, rats were divided into two subgroups for fertility evaluation, ovarian follicles count, sex hormones and oxidative stress assessment. Results: Prolonged cohabitation days until delivery (P<0.01, P<0.05) in exposure groups during intervals 30 and 60 days compared to conrtol was observed. Moreover, a significant decrease in the number of pups per delivery was observed during intervals 30 and 60 days (P both <0.01) respectively. Ovarian follicles count showed a dramatic decrease in exposure groups throughout the experiment except the number of atretic follicles was significantly increased compared to control groups. FSH level was significantly reduce within periods of 30 and 60 day exposure groups (P<0.001, P<0.001). LH level was remain constant during the periods of 15 and 30 days and was reduced significantly in 2 hr/day group for 60 days (P<0.04). Melatonin levels were significantly lowered in exposure groups of periods 30 and 60 days (P<0.05, P<0.001). Glutathion peroxidaes activity was reduced in all exposure groups except in 1hr./ day exposure group during 30 day period which remained constant. Malondialdehyde levels were raised significantly in exposure groups for 30 and 60 days compared to the control (P<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings conclude that exposure to electromagnetic fields causes female reproductive activity impairment. Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction 2015; 4(3): - Asian Pacific Journal of Reproduction Journal homepage: www.apjr.net