Panax ginseng improves survival and sperm quality in guinea pigs exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin.
OBJECTIVE
To further assess the effect of Panax ginseng on survival and sperm quality of guinea pigs exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).


METHODS
Eighty male guinea pigs were divided into eight equal groups. The normal control (NC) group received vehicle and saline; one dose of 1 micro g/kg body weight TCDD was injected intraperitoneally into the single TCDD-treated (TT) and test groups (P100, P200, C100, C200); G and NC groups received vehicle instead of TCDD. P. ginseng water extract (PG-WE) was injected intraperitoneally at daily doses of 100 (G100, P100, C100) or 200 mg/kg body weight (G200, P200, C200). The PG-WE was administered to the P and G groups for 12 weeks from 1 week before TCDD exposure, and to the C groups for 10 weeks from 1 week after TCDD exposure. After a 4-week discontinuation of PG-WE treatment after the 13th week the surviving males were then tested for fertility by mating them with females. The litter size, death rate, male/female birth ratio and physical abnormalities of the progeny were investigated. After confirming delivery of the offspring, the parent males were killed at 40 weeks, their testes weighed and sperm quality assessed.


RESULTS
All TT animals died within 18 days after TCDD exposure, but 40-70% of the PG-WE-treated groups, depending on the group, survived until death at 40 weeks. All the surviving males were fertile regardless of TCDD exposure; there was no difference in litter size between the NC and test groups. Notably the death rate of progeny born to PG-WE-treated groups was lower than that of progeny born to the NC group. The progeny born to TCDD-exposed groups (P200 and C groups) had a preponderance of females. G Group animals had higher sperm quality than that of NCs even long after discontinuing PG-WE.


CONCLUSIONS
P. ginseng improves the survival rate and sperm quality in guinea pigs exposed to TCDD.
Department of Pathology, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Korea.
Seock-Yeon
SY
Hwang
Wun-Jae
WJ
Kim
Jae-Joon
JJ
Wee
Jong-Soon
JS
Choi
Si-Kwan
SK
Kim
D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D005894:Panax; D018812:Paternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; C036513:tetrachlorofluorodibenzo-4-dioxin