Hormonal Physiological Changes of Testis Resulting From Exposure to Vinyl Cyanide and the Possible Protective Role of β-cryptoxanthin in Male Rat

Vinyl cyanide (VCN) is an aliphatic nitrile product which is extensively used in various synthetic chemical industries. VCN is known to exert toxic actions to human beings as well as experimental animals. The present study was designed to examine the ability of β-cryptoxanthin, a naturally occurring antioxidant, to attenuate VCN-induced testicular toxicity in adult albino rats. Daily oral administration of VCN at a dose level of 30 mg/kg b.w. (7.2mg/ animal) to male rats for a period of 5 days significantly reduced the levels of serum testosterone (T), androsterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) which indicates injury to the testis function. Compared to VCN-treated animals, pretreatment with β-cryptoxanthin and its co-administration with VCN once daily at a dose of 40 mg/kg b.w. (9.6mg/ animal) for 30 days induced a remarkable degree of improvement in the levels of endocrine parameters including T, androsterone, FSH and LH. In conclusion, the present results clearly demonstrate the protective role of β-cryptoxanthin against VCN-induced physiological changes in the testis of rats.