Effects of an intra-epididymal and intra-scrotal copper device on rat spermatozoa

The effects of implantation of an intra-epididymal (IECD) and intra-scrotal (ISCD) copper device on rat testicular and epididymal spermatozoa and the copper contents in its various reproductive tissues were studied and compared with another group of animals bearing the copper device and fed supplemental ascorbic acid. The motility of cauda epididymal spermatozoa in vitro in the presence of different concentrations of copper ions was also investigated. The results revealed that the in vitro decrease in motility was more rapid with increasing concentrations of copper sulphate solutions and the addition of ascorbic acid inhibited the motility of the spermatozoa much more rapidly than the copper sulphate solution alone, probably due to the strong acidic properties of ascorbic acid which caused a rapid fall in pH. In the copper device bearing rats, the count, motility, fertilizing capacity, and metabolism of epididymal spermatozoa were reduced which has been correlated with alterations in their morphology. An accumulation of copper occurred in several reproductive tissues, but recovery to almost normal levels was obtained by feeding ascorbic acid to copper implanted rats. The data supports the view that ascorbic acid had a beneficial effect in copper toxicity. Although the intraepididymal copper implantation was found to be a more effective male contraceptive device than the intra-scrotal, further work is necessary in terms of reversibility of the effects and easy removal of the device.