co-administration of vitamin e and testosterone attenuates the atrazine-induced toxic effects on sperm quality and testes in rats

objective: atrazine (atz) as a widely used herbicide is considered as a potent endocrine disrupter which adversely affects reproductive systems in both genders. this study aimed to assess the effects of testosterone (t)- and vitamin e (vite)- alone and their co-administration on testicular function and sperm parameters after exposure to atz in rats. materials and methods: in this experimental study, the rats (n=30) are assigned into the following 5 groups: control-sham group (n=6) receiving corn oil, atz group (n=6) receiving 200 mg/kg atz alone, atz+vite group (n=6) receiving 150 mg/kg atz+vite, atz+t group (n=6) receiving 400 µg/kg atz+t, and atz+vite+t group (n=6) receiving atz+vite+t for 48 consecutive days. total antioxidant capacity (tac), total thiol molecules (ttm), and malondialdehyde (mda) were analyzed. serum levels of t, luteinizing hormone (lh), and inhibin-b (in-b) were also determined. histological examination and sperm analysis were performed. the data were analyzed using graph-pad prism software version 2.01. results: co-administration of vite and t significantly (p<0.05) increased atz-decreased tac and ttm levels and reduced atz-increased mda content. t and vite significantly (p<0.05) increased serum levels of atz-reduced t (1.94 ± 0.96), in-b (122.10 ± 24.33) and lh (0.40 ± 0.10). the t+vite animals showed a reduction in apoptotic cells and an increase in leydig cells steroidogenesis. co-administration of t and vite significantly (p<0.05) reduced the atz-induced dna disintegrity and chromatin de-condensation. vite and t protected germinal cells rna and protein contents against atz-induced damages. conclusion: t and vite in simultaneous form of administration were able to normalize the atz-induced derangements through promoting antioxidant capacity and endocrine function.