green tea protects testes against atrazine-induced toxicity in rat

background: atrazine (atz) is a common herbicide in agriculture for control of grass and broad-leaved weeds. it persists in the environment and causes reproductive problems in both human and animals. the present study was aimed at protective effect of green tea against atz toxicity in the reproductive system of male rats. methods: the present study was performed in veterinary school, shahid bahonar university of kerman in 2016. atz and treatment groups received atz daily 200 mg/kg bw orally for 14 d. in addition, 0.2% methanolic green tea extract was administrated in the treatment group. results: in histopathologic investigation, number of germinal layers reduced in the most seminiferous tubules in the atz group and spermatids were absence. necrotic spermatocytes, spermatids, and spermatozoa were evident in the testicular tubules. in the morphometric measurements, tubular diameter, germinal epithelium height, and meiosis index decreased significantly. conclusion: green tea extract had reduced testicular toxicity of atrazine significantly. atz induces toxicity through oxidative damage and green tea extract can protect the testes due to antioxidant activity of its polyphenols especially flavonoids.