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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of exposure to three levels of boric acid (BA) on male rats reproduction, fertility and progeny outcome, with emphasis on testicular DNA level and quality. Adult male rats (12 weeks old) were treated orally with 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg bwt/d of BA for 60 d. The results indicated that BA administration at 125 mg/kg bwt had no adverse effects on fertility, sperm characteristics or prenatal development of the impregnated females. However, at dose 250 mg, BA treatment significantly increased serum nitric oxide, testosterone, estradiol levels and testicular boron and calcium levels and also significantly reduced serum arginase activity, sperm quality and testicular DNA content with minor DNA fragmentation. The impact of BA exposure at dose 250 mg on male rats fertility was translated into increases in pre-implantation loss with a resulting decrease in the number of live fetuses/litter. In addition to the significant alteration of biochemical measurements, observed at dose 250 mg, administration of BA at 500 mg caused testicular atrophy, severe damage of spermatogenesis, spermiation failure and significant reduction of Mg and Zn testicular levels. None of the male rats, treated with 500 mg/kg bwt, could impregnate untreated females, suggesting the occurrence of definitive loss of fertility. In conclusion, BA impaired fertility, in a dose-dependant manner, by targeting the highly proliferative cells, the germ cells, through decreasing DNA synthetic rate rather than the induction of DNA damage.