Endocrine disruptors and male infertility

Many compounds, such as pesticides and certain plastics products, are suspected of being endocrine disruptors, i.e. "exogenous agents that interfere with the production, release, transport, metabolism, binding, action or elimination of natural hormones responsible for maintaining homeostasis and regulating the body's development", according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The imbalance between the production of free radicals and their elimination systems leads to disorders of various organs, most notably those of the male reproductive system.In terms of reprotoxicity, our results revealed a reduction in the viability and motility of human spermatozoa, and an increase in the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) of human sperm.Our findings on the efficacy of Eruca sativa enabled us to determine its antioxidant power against free radical attack, thanks to its rich phenolic compound content, which acts as a scavenger of oxy-radicals.