Cell Journal (Jan 2010)
The Effect of Orally Administered L-carnitine on Testis Tissue Sperm Parameters and Daily Sperm Production in Adult Mice
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate body and testis weight, testis tissue,counts, motility, viability, morphology, and chromatin quality of epididymal sperm, aswell as the testicular spermatid number (TSN) per gram of testis, and daily sperm production(DSP) in L-carnitine treated mice.Materials and Methods: In the present study, adult male NMRI mice (mean age of 4weeks) were administered L-carnitine by gavage for two weeks. The experimental groupsreceived 1mg L-carnitine/100 μl deionized water and 10 mg L-carnitine/100 μl deionizedwater, respectively. The control group did not receive L-carnitine. All samples were assessedaccording to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Sperm morphology wasassessed with papanicula staining. Sperm chromatin quality was assessed using anilinebluestaining.The left testes were fixed in Bouins solution for histological examination and the end sliceswere stained with hematoxilin and eosin (H&E). The right testis was homogenized, andTSN and DSP were calculated with an improved neubauer haemocytometer and respectiveformula.Results: Administration of L-carnitine induced significant reduction in body weight (p<0.05)and an increase in tchromatine quality (p<0.05). Amongst the other parameters no significantdifferences were observed in all groups.Conclusion: These results show that oral administration of L-carnitine to mice with normalspermatogenesis does not have any significant effect on the reproductive systems.Thus, L-carnitine seems to be ineffective in normospermic animals.
