Effect Of Gossypol, Apogossypol And Gossypolone On Fertility Of Male Rats And In Vitro Sperm Motility

Abstract

The effect of the naturally occurring polyphenolic pigment, gossypol, and some of its metabolites, apogossypol and gossypolone, on the fertility of male rats has been studied in vivo. The normal growth of the rats was significantly retarded in gossypol and gossypolone treated groups compared to either the controls or to apogossypol group. The in vivo effect of these compounds on sperm mobility was also examined. Gossypol acetic acid and gossypolone injection (5 mg/Kg body weight) decreased significantly the sperm count and sperm motility. Whereas apogossypol (5 mg/Kg body weight) showed insignificant effects on the sperm count and sperm motility. Gossypol and gossypolone decrease significantly the sperm mobility in vitro at different concentrations studied (5 up to 40 mg/ml saline). Apogossypol, only at high concentration (40 mg/ml) indicate inhibitory effect on sperm motility. Gossypol showed intermediate effect between the highly toxic compound, gossypolone, and the less toxic one, apogossypol.