Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoenv Fenpropathrin induces testicular damage, apoptosis, and genomic DNA damage in adult rats: Protective role of camel milk Amany Abdel-Rahman Mohamed a,* , Suhair A. Abdellatief b , Safaa I. Khater c , Haytham Ali d,e , Naif A. Al-Gabri d,f a Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt b Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt c Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt d Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt e Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman f Veterinary Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Thamar University, Yemen ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Fenpropathrin Camel milk Electron microscope Apoptosis Testicular enzymes Comet ABSTRACT Fenpropathrin (FNP) is a member of the synthetic pyrethroids. Herein, the present study was conducted to investigate, for the first time, the potentially harmful effects of FNP on the reproductive system of male rats. In addition, the prophylactic or concurrent influence of camel milk (CM) was assessed. Adult male rats were di- vided into five groups; control, vehicle control (oil), CM (2ml/rat/day), FNP (15mg/kg bwt/60 days), CM/FNP (prophylaxis) and FNP /CM (co-treated) groups. Sperm morphology, count, serum testosterone (TES), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), testicular enzymes, and comet assay analysis were estimated. In addition, histopathology, the ultrastructure of testicular tissue and apoptosis were evaluated. Reduced body weight and gonadosomatic index were observed in the FNP exposed group. TES, LH, FSH were markedly declined following FNP treatment. SOD and TAC concentrations were reduced while PC and TBARS were significantly elevated in FNP group indicating oxidative stress. Furthermore, FNP induced DNA damage and apoptosis in the testis which was evidenced histopathologically and by electron microscope examination. CM significantly counteracted FNP reprotoxic effects, particularly at the prophylactic routine (CM/FNP) than the co-exposure (FNP/CM) one. Conclusively, these findings verified that CM could be a potential candidate therapy against FNP reprotoxic impacts. 1. Introduction Over long decades, pesticides are a significant component of the worldwide agriculture systems, for increasing crop yields and food production in modern agriculture (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012). A wide range of synthetic pesticides have been leaked into the rural environment through the agricultural activities to control plant pa- thogens, insect pests and weeds not only in the developing countries but in the developed ones as well (Henao et al., 1993). The pesticide con- centrations in our food and environment, are to great extent associated with public health hazards including infertility (Tago et al., 2014). Pyrethroids (PYRs), structural derivatives of pyrethrins are com- monly used by veterinarians to safeguard animals against ectoparasites (Anadón et al., 2009)(Cisak et al., 2012) and in agriculture and horticulture to maximize the crop production (Soderlund et al., 2002). Humans and animals are continually exposed to traces of PYRs via food and water of plant origin (Badach et al., 2007). Fenpropathrin (FNP) is a member of the synthetic pyrethroids (Soderlund et al., 2002). FNP modify the gating kinetics of the voltage-sensitive sodium channels, thereby they interrupt nerve function producing acute neurotoxic out- comes in both insects and non-target organisms (Soderlund et al., 2002). There is a growing concern about the PYRs abuse in veterinary medicine which in turn leads to subacute and chronic effects in non- target organisms (Cisak et al., 2012). In fact, pesticides are known to generate free radicals and induce oxidative stress; the radicals may be in the form of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and highly reactive me- tabolites. Previous studies on the effects of sub-chronic and chronic pesticide drawbacks on human and animals have been associated with https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.06.047 Received 24 March 2019; Received in revised form 14 June 2019; Accepted 15 June 2019 * Corresponding author. Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt. E-mail address: aabdaziz@zu.edu.eg (A.A.-R. Mohamed). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 181 (2019) 548–558 0147-6513/ © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. T