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EFFECTS OF EPICHLOROHYDRIN ON MALE AND FEMALE REPRODUCTION IN LONG-EVANS RATS
Citation:
Toth, G.P., H. Zenick, AND M. Smith. EFFECTS OF EPICHLOROHYDRIN ON MALE AND FEMALE REPRODUCTION IN LONG-EVANS RATS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/121 (NTIS PB90113317), 1989.
Description:
Male and female Long-Evans rats were treated with epichlorohydrin (ECH) by oral gavage (males: 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg/day; females: 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day) for 21 and 14 days respectively, prior to mating trials with untreated animals. Treated females were further dosed until delivery. nfertility was induced in males at 50 mg ECH/kg/day, while no measured parameters of female reproduction were changed relative to controls. reated males showed normal copulatory behavior. perm morphology and percent motile sperm were not statistically different from control values in both ejaculated and cauda epididymal samples from ECH-treated animals. he number of sperm in ejaculates was normal while cauda epididymal sperm count was slightly decreased in males at the 50 mg ECH/kg dose level. Mean curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity, and the amplitude of lateral head displacement of cauda epididymal sperm were significantly reduced by ECH at 12.5 mg/kg/day. perm track linearity w,as also reduced, but only at 50 mg/kg/day. eat/cross frequency of sperm was significantly increased at 12.5 mg/kg/day. ll of the above sperm motion parameters showed dosedependent trends. hese effects are consistent with the spermatozoal metabolic lesions reported for alpha-chlorohydrin, a metabolite of ECH.