Hormones of Pituitary-Gonadal Axis and Histology of Pituitary Gland Following Oral Treatment of Male Wistar Rats with Glyphosate

There are numerous endocrine disrupting chemicals across the globe among which is the contentious organophosphate called glyphosate. The aim was to analyze the effects of glyphosate on Wistar rat’s pituitary gland and pituitary-gonadal axis. Specific objectives determined male reproductive hormones of Wistar rats exposed to glyphosate; demonstrated possible endocrine disruptive action of glyphosate on Wistar rats and determined effects of glyphosate on histology of pituitary gland. Fifteen male adult Wistar rats of 200g and above used for the study were randomly assigned into three groups A, B and C of 5 rats in each. Group A (control) gavaged with only distilled water. Group B (low dose) and Group C (high dose) were gavaged with 400mg and 2000mg of glyphosate/kg body weight/day respectively. All the rats were treated for 60 days before sacrificing, collection of blood sample and harvesting of tissue for analysis. Collated data were entered into Statistical Package for Social Scientists (version 21) for t-test and test of significance (p<0.05).  Both follicle stimulating hormone and testosterone were significantly decreased in treated rats. The levels of luteinizing hormone, prolactin, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone/oestrogen ratio statistically increased among treated groups. Adenohypophysis in Group B rats illustrated cellular hyperplasia with mitotic bodies while those of Group C demonstrated fewer cells that are widely separated by connective tissue. This study established glyphosate as an endocrine disrupting chemical. Histological slides of the pituitary gland of treated rats showed some level of abnormality. High-resolute imaging techniques were suggested for better imaging.