Anethole is a natural anisole derivative that has been widely used in food and daily chemical industries, agricultural applications and the traditional medicine. It is closely related to aspects of daily life, and humans can easily be exposed to it. Although the reproductive toxicity of anethole was shown in the rat, its effect on human reproduction remains unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of anethole on human sperm in vitro. Different anethole doses (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μM) were applied to ejaculated human sperm. Fertilization-essential functions, as well as the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and tyrosine phosphorylation, two vital factors for regulating sperm function, were measured. The results indicated that 10 and 100 μM anethole significantly reduced the motility, hyperactivation, and penetration ability of human sperm (P < 0.05) and inhibited the increase in human sperm functions induced by progesterone, a hormone essential for sperm function activation. Additionally, 10 and 100 μM anethole decreased both basal and progesterone-increased tyrosine phosphorylation, [Ca2+]i, and the current of CATSPER, a cation channel of sperm predominant for Ca2+ influx. These results suggest that anethole inhibits human sperm functions by reducing sperm [Ca2+]i through CATSPER and suppressing tyrosine phosphorylation in vitro, raising the fact that the caution is needed when overtaking anethole.

中文翻译：

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茴香脑通过影响精子细胞内钙浓度和酪氨酸磷酸化而损害人类精子功能。

茴香脑是一种天然的茴香醚衍生物，已广泛用于食品和日用化学工业，农业应用和传统药物中。它与日常生活的各个方面密切相关，人类很容易接触到它。尽管茴香脑对大鼠产生了生殖毒性，但其对人类生殖的影响仍然未知。在这项研究中，我们研究了茴香脑对人精子的体外作用。将不同的茴香脑剂量（0.1、1、10和100μM）应用于射精的人类精子。测量了受精必需功能以及细胞内钙浓度（[Ca2 +] i）和酪氨酸磷酸化，这是调节精子功能的两个重要因素。结果表明10和100μM的茴香脑显着降低了运动能力，过度激活，和精子的渗透能力（P <0.05），并抑制由孕激素（精子功能激活所必需的一种激素）诱导的精子功能的增加。此外，10和100μM的茴香脑减少了基础和孕酮增加的酪氨酸磷酸化[Ca2 +] i，以及CATSPER的电流，CATSPER是精子的主要阳离子通道，Ca2 +大量流入。这些结果表明，茴香脑通过CATSPER减少精子[Ca2 +] i并在体外抑制酪氨酸磷酸化，从而抑制了人类的精子功能，这一事实表明，在超过茴香脑时需要谨慎。10和100μM的茴香脑减少了基础和孕酮增加的酪氨酸磷酸化[Ca2 +] i，以及CATSPER的电流，CATSPER是精子的主要阳离子通道，Ca2 +大量流入。这些结果表明，茴香脑通过CATSPER减少精子[Ca2 +] i并抑制体外酪氨酸磷酸化，从而抑制了人类的精子功能，从而增加了人们在超过茴香脑时需要谨慎的事实。10和100μM的茴香脑减少了基础和孕酮增加的酪氨酸磷酸化[Ca2 +] i，以及CATSPER的电流，CATSPER是精子的主要阳离子通道，Ca2 +大量流入。这些结果表明，茴香脑通过CATSPER减少精子[Ca2 +] i并抑制体外酪氨酸磷酸化，从而抑制了人类的精子功能，从而增加了人们在超过茴香脑时需要谨慎的事实。