Efeito do extrato de Ginkgo biloba, após exposição materna, sobre os testículos e epidídimo de ratos Wistar

Abstract

Incidence of endocrine disruptors on the gonadal development is the cause of many anomalies of the male reproductive system (MRS), especially those with estrogen action. Ginkgo biloba is an endocrine disruptor, which has affinity for β estrogen receptors, important in the development of MRS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Ginkgo biloba, after maternal exposure on the reproductive parameters of F1 males. Pregnant Wistar rats received 25, 50 or 100 mg /kg/day of Ginkgo biloba, by gavage, from the 16th to 20th days of pregnancy. Pregnant animals were evaluated for daily feed intake, body weight and clinical signs of toxicity. In F1 males were analyzed testicular descent, morphology of the glans penis, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, weight of reproductive and visceral organs, seric concentrations of testosterone, and the structural organization of testicular tissue and epididymis. No statistically significant differences were observed in the analyzed variables, except for sperm morphology, where there was an increase of abnormal sperm in all treated groups compared with the control group. The number of abnormal sperm in groups C, T1, T2 and T3 were, respectively, 19.90 ± 3.53, 29.0 ± 7.01, 26.05 ± 3.72 and 30.05 ± 6.53 (mean ± SD), counting 200 sperm / stain. Most anomalies concentrated in the sperm tail, totaling 13.35 ± 2.42, 18.45 ± 6.87, 16.15 ± 4.31 and 19.55 ± 5.43 (mean ± SD) in groups C, T1, T2 and T3, respectively. These results indicate that Ginkgo biloba does not alter the maternal toxicity, fetal development, postnatal and puberty date, but induces the increase of sperm abnormality.