Effect of Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) on Sperm Motility and Abnormality: An In vitro Approach

Abstract

Nitrates (NO3 ) are the naturally occurring inorganic ions with beneficial effects in both plants and animals. However, NO3 in excess has adverse effect on male and female reproductive systems. The study was undertaken to investigate the effect of 10mg/ ml and 100mg/ml of sodium nitrate (NaNO3 ) on sperm motility and abnormality at different time intervals (5,10,15,20,25 and 30 min). Treatment of cauda epididymal sperm suspension with 10mg/ml of NaNO3 significantly reduced the sperm motility only at 25 and 30 min time intervals compared to controls. However, 100mg/ml of NaNO3 resulted in significant reduction of sperm motility from 5 min to 30 min time interval in time dependent manner and complete loss of sperm motility was observed at 15 min of incubation. In addition, the number of abnormal spermatozoa was significantly high in 100mg/ml of NaNO3 treated groups compared to controls and 10 mg/ml of NaNO3 . These results clearly reflected the toxic effect of NO3 on spermatozoa and its capability in fertilization.