Effects of glyphosate exposure on sperm concentration in rodents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Correlation between exposure to glyphosate and sperm concentrations is important in reproductive toxicity risk assessment for male reproductive functions. Many studies have focused on reproductive toxicity on glyphosate, however, results are still controversial. We conducted a systematic review of epidemiological studies on the association between glyphosate exposure and sperm concentrations of rodents. The aim of this study is to explore the potential adverse effects of glyphosate on reproductive function of male rodents.

Systematic and comprehensive literature search was performed in MEDLINE, TOXLINE, Embase, WANFANG and CNKI databases with different combinations of glyphosate exposure and sperm concentration. 8 studies were eventually identified and random-effect model was conducted. Heterogeneity among study results was calculated via chi-square tests. Ten independent experimental datasets from these eight studies were acquired to synthesize the random-effect model.

A decrease in sperm concentrations was found with mean difference of sperm concentrations(MDsperm)=-2.774×10⁶/sperm/g/testis(95%CI=-0.969 to -4.579) in random-effect model after glyphosate exposure. There was also a significant decrease after fitting the random-effect model: MDsperm=-1.632×10⁶/sperm/g/testis (95%CI=-0.662 to -2.601).

The results of meta-analysis support the hypothesis that glyphosate exposure decreased sperm concentration in rodents. Therefore, we conclude that glyphosate is toxic to male rodent's reproductive system.