Toxicity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Adult Male Wistar Rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) on adult male Wistar rats.Thirty male Wistar rats divided into five groups of six animals each were used for this study. For ten days, Groups one to four continuously received 50,100,150 and 200 mg/kg nZnO, respectively. Group five served as the control group. At the end of the study after anesthetizing the animals and removing the epididymis, sperm analysis was performed. The sperm count was assessed using a haemocytometer. Also, the qualitative and quantitative morphology and motility of sperms were observed with a light microscope and their vitality was studied with Eosin dye. Then, the percentage of live sperms to the total sperms was evaluated with a magnifi- cation of 40. The dead sperms were observed in reddish color. The results are analyzed using SPSS statistical software .The results of this study showed that nZnO at concentration more than 50 mg/kg lead to significant changes in oxidative stress andsperm quality and quantity. According to the obtained results the sperm count and vitality of all groups decreased significantly compared to the control group. Furthermore, while sperm motility decreased by increasing the concentration of zinc oxide nanoparticles, the reduction was not significant at the 50 mg concentration. All levelsof zinc oxide nanoparticles had a significant impact on sperm morphology. In conclusion, the toxicity of nZnO is more significant when the concentration is increased; however, the use of low doses requires further investigation.

کلیدواژه ها:

ZNO Nanoparticles ، Oxidative Stress System ، Sperm Analysis ، Histopathology