Potential of triptolide in reproductive management of the house rat,Rattus rattus

Abstract

Mature and healthy male house rats, Rattus rattus (n= 160) were fed on bait (cracked wheat: powdered sugar, 98:2) containing different concentrations of triptolide (0.1, 0.05, 0.025 and 0%) for 7 and 14 days in no-choice and bi-choice feeding tests in the laboratory. The objective of the study was to record the antifertility affects of triptolide after 30 and 60 days of termination of treatment. Results revealed no significant effect of triptolide treatment on weights of testis, epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate gland of rats. Overall, sperm motility, live sperm count, sperm density and sperm morphology in the cauda epididymal fluid were found to differ significantly (P≤ 0.05) between untreated and treated groups of rats. The major effect of triptolide on sperm morphology was in the form of sperm head tail separation, which was up to 56.0% in rats treated for 14 days in no-choice and autopsied after 30 days. A significant effect (P≤ 0.05) of triptolide treatment was observed on the histomorphology of the testis, which included a dose-dependent decrease in diameter of seminiferous tubules, thickness of germinal epithelium and numbers of various spermatogenic cells. Cell associations in the seminiferous epithelial cycle were poorly developed in rats ingesting medium (4.7-5.1 mg/100 g bw) and high doses (6.9-7.2 mg/100 g bw) of triptolide than rats ingesting low doses (1.8-2.3 mg/100 g bw) and untreated rats. The cell stages affected had not recovered fully within the 60 day period following triptolide withdrawal. The present study suggests the potential of triptolide in reproductive management of Rattus rattus.

Histomorphological and biochemical changes induced by triptolide treatment in male lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis

“…Slow recovery in the number of spermatogenic cells following triptolide withdrawal during the present study may be due to the fact that the cumulative dose of triptolide in some rats might have reached a critical level in which testicular damage or degeneration became too advanced to allow complete reversibility to occur by 60 days after treatment. Similar observations are reported by Singla et al [21] and Huynh et al [18] in triptolide treated rats.…”

“…The crude spermatogenic cell counts of round and almost round nuclei were corrected for differences in their nuclear diameter to obtain true count of cells by Abercrombie's formula [28] as described by Singla et al [21].…”

“…However, for field scale use of an antifertility agent, it is required to be fed in bait form. In India, Singla et al [21], for the first time reported the antifertility effect of triptolide fed in bait against house rat, Rattus rattus. Our previous studies [22] have reported complete inhibition of reproduction in female B. bengalensis paired with male rats treated with 0.2 and 0.25% triptolide in bait immediately and after 30 days of treatment withdrawal.…”

Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

“…Similarly, repeated oral administration of triptolide, a diterpenoid triepoxide, affects the ovarian function by causing follicular atresia (Xu and Zhao 2010;Liu et al 2011). Triptolide can also compromise sperm function in males (Singla et al 2013). However, reduced fertility induced by free-feeding of epoxides has yet to be demonstrated in either males or females.…”

Recovery of fertility in quinestrol‐treated or diethylstilbestrol‐treated mice: Implications for rodent management

“…Thus, the development of effective contraceptives or sterilants for rodents is a promising way to manage their numbers. Currently, various compounds or agents have been tested to reduce the fertility of rodents, such as plant products (Dhar & Singla 2014a,b;Singla et al 2013), immuno-vaccines (Jackson et al 1998) and synthetic hormones (Zhang et al 2004).…”