Reproductive Responses in Male Rats Fed Extracts of Fescue Seed Infected by the Endophytic Fungus Acremonium Coenophialum

ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to determine whether a methanol extract of endophyte-infected tall fescue seed contained the factor (s) that were responsible for the decrease in male reproductive potential when rats were fed toxic tall fescue seed. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats (ca. 225 g.) were randomly allocated to one of three dietary treatments containing 50% (w/w) rodent chow and 50%: (1) noninfected tall fescue seed; (2) noninfected tall fescue seed treated with concentrated methanol effluent from serial methanol extraction of infected seed; and (3) the extracted seed residue of seed that was >95% infected by Acremonium coencphialum. Parameters assessed were testicular weight, epidydimal weight, parenchymal weight, progressive sperm motility, sperm motility, sperm count and daily sperm production potential. Significant reduction (P