Background: Microwaves from mobile phones are one of the environmental toxicants that are capable of compromising male fertility by inducing oxidative stress and apoptosis in the testes. Melatonin is a lipophilic tryptophan indole amine and a potent antioxidant.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin treatment on oxidative stress parameters and DNA fragmentation in the testicular tissue of rats exposed to microwave radiation (4 h/day).
Material and methods: Adult Wistar rats were divided in 4 groups: I--treated with saline; II--treated with melatonin; III--exposed to microwaves; IV--exposed to microwaves and treated with melatonin. The melatonin (2 mg/kg ip) was administered daily. The animals were sacrificed after 20, 40 and 60 days.
Results: Melatonin treatment prevented previously registered increases in malondialdehyde after only 20 days. Furthermore, it reversed the effects of microwave exposure on xanthine oxidase (after 40 days) and acid-DNase activity (after 20 days). However, neither protein carbonyl content nor catalase and alkaline Dnase activity were changed due to melatonin treatment.
Conclusions: Melatonin exerts potent antioxidant effects in the testes of rats exposed to microwaves by decreasing the intensity of oxidative stress; it also reduces DNA fragmentation.