Melatonin ameliorates testes against forced treadmill exercise training on spermatogenesis in rats

Introduction: It is well documented that some forced exercises can have bad effects on the genital system. Melatonin is a potent antioxidant that is effective in reducing the physical stress. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the supportive effect of melatonin on the quality of spermatogenesis, including count, motility, morphology, viability, and apoptosis of sperm following a forced treadmill exercise. Materials and methods: A total of 40 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this experimental study. All rats were divided into five groups: control group, sham M group, melatonin (M) group, forced treadmill exercise group (Ft), and melatonin with forced treadmill exercise (MFt) group. The experimental group was trained to force treadmill stress for one hour of forced treadmill exercise daily, five days weekly for eight weeks. Then the sperm quality parameters were measured after dissection and removal of epididymis. Spermatogenesis and germ cell apoptosis were evaluated using Miller and Johnsen's score and TUNEL staining separately. Results: Results showed the count, motility, morphology, and viability of sperm in forced treadmill-melatonin administrated group, significantly enhanced by melatonin treatment compared to the treadmill exercise group (p≤0.01). Also the number of apoptotic germ cells significantly decreased in treadmill exercised-melatonin administrated group compared to the treadmill exercised group. Conclusions: These results suggest that administration of melatonin can protect the testis against the detrimental effect of forced treadmill exercise in adult male rats.