Testicular and Epididymal Toxicity of Carbaryl in Sprague-Dawley Strain Rats

In the past decade, the use of carbamate has become exceedingly popular as that of the organophosphates. There is a growing concern that the exposure to these compounds is a chronic hazard to man and animals. The present study was conducted to investigate the testicular and epididymal toxicity of carbaryl on rats. Male rats of Sprague Dawley strain were administered orally with carbaryl dissolved in olive oil at 50 - 150 mg doses/Kg body weight/day for 30 days. At the end of the treatment, rats were weighed and killed. Body weights remained unchanged at the end of the treatment. The weights of testis and epididymis decreased significantly after the treatment along with significant reductions in epididymal sperm count, viability and sperm motility. Activities of 3-β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17-β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase showed a significant decrease along with the reduction in the serum pituitary LH, FSH and testosterone. Carbaryl significantly decreased the activities of epididymal marker enzymes, phosphodiesterase and adenylate cyclase. These findings demonstrate the adverse effect of carbaryl on testicular steroidogenesis and epididymal functions contributing to the decline in the sperm counts of rats.