Abstract
Daily oral administration of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (2000 mg/kg) to male rats for a period of 7 days triggered significant histoenzymic and histological alterations in the testes. Histopathological examination revealed marked degeneration of seminiferous tubules. Patchy loss in the activity of succinic dehydrogenase, NADH-diaphorase and acid phosphatase and increase in adenosine triphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatedehydrogenase, andalkaline phosphatase was observed in treated rats. These alterations suggest that the disruption of cellular energetics in the testes may be responsible for the reported infertility in male rats.
