Stereological study on the effect of vitamin C in preventing the adverse effects of bisphenol A on rat ovary

BACKGROUND Bisphenol A (BPA), an environmental pollutant, can generate free radicals which damages the reproductive system. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which may prevent the adverse effects of free radicals. OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate the effect of vitamin C on the ovary tissue in rats treated with BPA. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this experimental study, 24 female Wistar rats (200±20 gr) were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=6): control, BPA (60 µg/Kg/day), vitamin C (150 mg/Kg/day) and BPA + vitamin C and orally treated for 20 days. The left ovaries were taken out, fixed for tissue processing and studied using stereological methods. Data were analyzed with SPSS using one-way ANOVA, and the means were considered significantly different at (p<0.05). RESULTS The total volume of ovary and cortex (p<0.01), medulla (p<0.05), the volume of corpus luteum (p<0.001) and the mean number of antral follicles (p<0.001) significantly reduced in BPA group compared with control, while the number of atretic follicles increased (p<0.05). The volume of oocyte (p<0.01) and its nucleus (p<0.001) in the antral follicles and the thickness of zona pellucida (ZP) in the secondary (p<0.05) and antral (p<0.001) follicles significantly decreased in BPA group compared with controls. The above parameters in the BPA + vitamin C group were compensated to control level. CONCLUSION Vitamin C can be used as a potential antioxidant in the case of BPA toxication.