Effects of Ingestion of Bonny Light Crude Oil on Sperm Motility and Morphology of Male Wistar Rats

This study evaluated the effects of Bonny light crude oil (BLCO) on the sperm morphology and sperm motility of young adult male wistar rats. Eighty (80) adult male wistar rats were used for this study, they were divide into four (4) parallel groups A, B, C, and D consisting each of fifteen (15) experimental animals and five (5) control animals. The experimental animals in groups A, B, C, and D received 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5ml/kg B. W of BLCO respectively, while the control animals in corresponding groups received the corresponding doses of normal saline via oral gastric intubation for sixty (60) days alternately. At the end of the sixty days, the animals were sacrificed and the spermatozoa was expressed, a homogenate made and used for semen analysis. The percentage motility for normal motility decreased down the group with increase in administered BLCO ( A, 79.30 %, B, 44.00 %, C, 38.00 %, D, 15.80 %), while in the control groups, the percentage for both normal motility ( A, 90.60 %, B, 90.50 %, C, 90.10 %, D, 89.60 %) were fairly stable. The total percentage morphology of the defected sperm increased down the group ( A, 23.50 %, B, 46.80 %, C, 59.90 %, D, 70.20) with increase in BLCO administered, but despite the varying volume of normal saline administered to each control group, the percentage morphology of normal sperm (A, 93.80 %, B, 94.60 %, C, 94.20 %, D, 93.00 %) remained fairly the stable. This study shows that administration of BLCO, can cause a reduction in the percentage of motile sperm and also abnormal morphology of sperm cells.