Pesticide Exposures Induce Male-Mediated Reproductive Toxicity: A Review

Infertility remains a continuing globally problem wherever couples worldwide were infertile as much as 42 million in 1990 and keep projecting to 48.5 million in 2010. Male-mediated infertility becomes one of the numerous concerns due to pesticide especially sperm quality as revealed with raising number of animal and human studies in latter-day among researchers. Pesticides have been used since the early days as pest control in agriculture, as vector controls in malaria and dengue as well as subject to much regulation. The reproductive system might be affected with some negative effects from pesticides that lead to interference with the male hormonal function. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in the sperm cell membrane makes it become highly susceptible towards reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus leading to sperm damage. Besides known genetic and environmental factors, research during the last two decades has highlight on several mechanisms and their association with male infertility. The male germ line undergoes extensive epigenetic modifications throughout fetal to adult life hence vulnerable to environmental factors that may influence fertility. The present literature will help in understanding the mechanisms of pesticide in inducing male-mediated reproductive toxicity.