Aims

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of iron or/and zinc supplementation and termination of this treatment on the antioxidant defence of the male reproductive system and sperm viability in rats.

Methods

The study consisted of 3 stages: I) 4-week adaptation to the diets (C-control or D-iron deficient); II) 4-week iron and/or zinc supplementation (10-times more than in the C diet of iron: CSFe, DSFe; zinc: CSZn, DSZn; or iron and zinc: CSFeZn, DSFeZn; and III) 2-week post-supplementation period (the same diets as during stage I). Parameters of antioxidant status (total antioxidant capacity and SOD, GPx, and CAT activiy), oxidative damage (lipid and protein peroxidation), and sperm viability were measured.

Results

Simultaneous iron and zinc supplementation compared to iron supplementation (CSFeZn vs CSFe) increased SOD activity in the testes and decreased the level of malondialdehyde in the epididymis after stage II, and increased the percentage of live sperm after stage III. After discontinuation of the iron and zinc supplementation and a return to the control diet, the following was observed a decrease of SOD activity in the testes and GPx activity in the epididymis, and a increase malondialdehyde concentration in prostates. After stage III, in DSFeZn vs DSFe rats, an increase of SOD and CAT activity in the epididymis was found.

Conclusion

Zinc supplementation simultaneous with iron may protect the male reproductive system against oxidative damage induced by high doses of iron and may have a beneficial effect on sperm viability. The effect of this supplementation was observed even two weeks after the termination of the intervention.

中文翻译：

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铁和/或锌饮食补充和终止这种做法对大鼠生殖组织抗氧化状态和精子活力的影响

宗旨

本研究的目的是研究铁或/和锌补充剂和终止这种治疗对大鼠雄性生殖系统抗氧化防御和精子活力的影响。

方法

该研究包括 3 个阶段：I) 对饮食的 4 周适应（C-对照或 D-铁缺乏）；II) 4 周补充铁和/或锌（比 C 饮食中的铁多 10 倍：CSFe、DSFe；锌：CSZn、DSZn；或铁和锌：CSFeZn、DSFeZn；和 III）2 周后- 补充期（与第一阶段相同的饮食）。测量了抗氧化状态（总抗氧化能力和 SOD、GPx 和 CAT 活性）、氧化损伤（脂质和蛋白质过氧化）和精子活力的参数。

结果

同时补充铁和锌与补充铁相比（CSFeZn与CSFe）增加了睾丸中的 SOD 活性并降低了 II 期后附睾中的丙二醛水平，并增加了 III 期后活精子的百分比。在停止补充铁和锌并恢复对照饮食后，观察到睾丸中的 SOD 活性和附睾中的 GPx 活性降低，以及前列腺中丙二醛浓度增加。在第三阶段之后，在 DSFeZn与DSFe 大鼠中，发现附睾中的 SOD 和 CAT 活性增加。

结论

同时补充锌和铁可以保护男性生殖系统免受高剂量铁引起的氧化损伤，并可能对精子活力产生有益影响。即使在干预终止两周后，也观察到了这种补充剂的效果。