Effect of Vitamin C and atorvastatin on male fertility in rats subjected to forced swimming stress

Introduction: An imbalance between the oxidative system and the antioxidant defense system leads to stress. So the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of vitamin C and atorvastatin on fertility in male rats subjected to experimental stress using the forced swimming stress model. Materials and methods: Thirty adult male albino rats weighing 200-250 g and aged 10-12 weeks were used. Institutional Animal Ethics Committee approval was obtained. Rats were exposed to forced swimming stress daily and drugs were orally administered 30 minutes prior to the stress for a total of 15 days once daily. Group I: the nonstress group with distilled water (negative control); group II: positive control (only stress) plus distilled water; group III: stress + vitamin C (20 mg/kg/day); group IV: stress + atorvastatin (2 mg/kg/day); group V: stress + vitamin C (20 mg/kg/day) + atorvastatin (2 mg/kg/day). On the 16th day, the effect of drugs in stressed rats on body weight, testicular and epididymis weight, testicular index, sperm count, and motility was assessed. Results: In stressed rats, sperm count, motility, testicular weight, epididymis weight, and testicular index were significantly reduced when compared with the control group. Groups III, IV, and V showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in all five parameters when compared with the stress group. Conclusion: The results suggest that vitamin C and atorvastatin significantly protected the harmful effect of stress on sperms. Clinical significance: The pleiotropic antioxidant effect of statins is proven by this study and clinical trials can be done to evaluate the role of atorvastatin in treating male infertility.