Proteinaceous diet inhibits gossypol-induced spermatotoxicity

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of a proteinaceous dietary supplement, fishmeal, on gossypol-induced spermatotoxicity. Twenty-five adult male Wistar rats, averaging 205 g b.w., were randomly sorted into four experimental groups (I-IV) of 5 animals each, and a control group. Crude cottonseed oil was administered orally to each animal in groups I-IV at a rate that provided 14 mg/kg/d free gossypol; in addition, 3 g/d, 7 g/d, and 10 g/d of fishmeal was provided as meal supplement to each animal in groups I, II and III respectively. The control group received rat pellets and water freely. At the end of the 53-day treatment period, all animals were placed under chloroform anaesthesia; the caudal epididymides were removed, minced and placed in Ham's F10 solution for the evaluation of sperm count and motility. The testes were also processed for histological studies using the eosin and haematoxylin (H & E) method. Our findings revealed a dose-dependent inhibition of gossypol-induced spermatotoxicity by the supplemented fishmeal; this suggests that proteinaceous diets are protective against gossypol-induced male infertility.