Sublethal effects of tricyclazole fungicide in male mice, the structure of the testis and testosterone levels studies

Tricyclazole is one of widely-used fungicides to control Blast disease in agriculture. It is thought to affect the mammalian reproduction system. Therefore, we studied its impact on testes tissue and testosterone levels in mice. In an experimental-analytical study, 32 mice were randomly divided into four equal groups including control, sham and experimental 1and 2. The animals in experimental groups 1 and 2 intraperitoneally received doses, respectively, of 0.5 and 1.5 mg/kg BW animal the tricyclazole for two weeks. The control animals did not any receiving toxin and sham receiving distilled water. The animals of all groups were ether anesthetized and killed. Sections of testes were prepared and various spermatogenic and Leydig cell were detected. Levels Testosterone was measured using radioimmunoassay. Data were analyzed using of one-way ANOVA. The levels of Testosterone, number of Leydig cells and the diameter of seminiferous tubules in experimental groups 1 and 2 significantly increased compared to controls. In parallel, the number of spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids were significantly reduced compared to their counterparts in control group. The results indicated that tricyclazole might be able to damage testes and disturb Testosterone biosynthesis thereby affecting spermatogenesis.