Testicular toxicity effects of magnetic field exposure and prophylactic role of coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine in mice

The protective effect of L-carnitine or coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) against high magnetic field (20 mT) induced testicular toxicity in mice were evaluated. Animals were injected with L-carnitine (200 mg kg(-1), i.p.) or CoQ10 (200 mg kg(-1), p.o.) 1 h before exposure to fractionated doses (30 min per day, three times per week for 2 weeks) or acute dose (3 h) of magnetic field. Total sperm count, motility, daily sperm production, and testicular LDH-X activity as well as histopathological examination were investigated. Exposure of mice to fractionated doses of magnetic field caused a significant decrease in sperm count, motility, daily sperm production, and LDH-X activity, which was more pronounced than that of acute dose. Moreover, a marked testicular histopathological changes were observed after exposure to fractionated doses of magnetic field. Pretreatment of mice with L-carnitine or CoQ10 1 h before exposure to magnetic field caused a significant recovery of mice testes damage induced by high magnetic field (20 mT). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.