Effect of prolonged intake of iron enriched diet on testicular functions of experimental rats

Iron deficiency anemia represents a common nutritional problem which affects many societies allover the world and iron fortified diet has been suggested as one of possible tools to combat and solve such problem. Present study was designed to illustrate the effect of dietary iron intake on certain biochemical markers dealing with oxidative stress, inflammatory response and cellular alterations of testicular tissues. Adult male rats which were fed on biscuits fortified with iron (0.3% ferrous sulfate) daily for 10 weeks (iron group) showed increased serum iron, ferritin, tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO) and decreased Testosterone level (p < 0.05). Testicular tissues content of Malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroxyproline (Hyp), iron showed significant increase (p < 0.05) and decreased glutathione (GSH) as compared to control group. Testicular tissues demonstrated massive iron distribution in sertoli interstial tissues and degeneration of germinal epithelial cells. Apparent reduction in number of sperms and spermatogenic cells were also observed. These symptoms may demonstrate that prolonged intake of Biscuit fortified with iron causes certain testicular damage through certain mechanism.