Reproductive and developmental toxicology of nitrosamines

With the development of science and technology and the acceleration of industrialization, environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, and the global fertility rate is decreasing every year, which makes people pay more attention to reproductive health. Nitrosamines are a kind of easy to contact food pollutants, widely exist in pickled food (10.2-14.8 mg/kg) and contaminated water sources (10-150 ng/L), etc. They have been confirmed to be carcinogenic, but the reproductive and developmental toxic effects of nitrosamines have not been systematically reported. Based on relevant researches, the classification, distribution and metabolism kinetics of nitrosamines were summarized in this review. In addition, nitrosamines can inhibit testosterone synthesis (Leydig cells) and spermatogenesis (spermatogenic cells) in F0 male, and reduce ovary functions in F0 female, finally induce parental reproductive toxic effects. Meanwhile, the effects of parental (including maternal pregnancy, paternal) nitrosamine exposure on offspring development (such as cancer susceptibility) and related research deficiencies were summarized. To sum up, this paper systematically reviewed the reproductive and developmental toxic effects caused by exposure to nitrosamines, enabling people to fully understand the negative effects of nitrosamines on the body, so as to effectively avoid and reduce intake in daily life, and at the same time provide a theoretical and literature basis for guiding the healthy life and maintaining fertility.