Background: Atrazine is an herbicide used widely by farmers in controlling weeds. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of atrazine, as an herbicide, on sperm quality, sperm DNA damage, invitrofertilization (IVF), and embryonic development in mature male rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 42 mature male Wistar rats weighing 170±5g were divided into three groups, including one control and two treatment groups. The rats in the control group were administered corn oil (0.2 ml/day) and the rats in the test groups were orally gavaged with atrazine 150mg/kg (high dose) and 75mg/kg (low dose) body weight daily for a total of 45 days. Epidydimis tail was cut and placed in 1 ml of human tubular fluid (HTF) medium for 30 minutes in an atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air at 370C. The sperms were analyzed for sperm count, sperm viability, motility, DNA damage, immature sperm, and in vitro fertilization. Data were analyzed by One-Way ANOVA. Results: In this study, atrazine provoked a significant decrease (P<0.05) in sperm number, sperm viability, and sperm motility. The data suggest that the atrazine had a negative impact on sperm maturation and DNA integrity in a time-dependent manner, which consequently caused a significantly remarkable reduction in IVF ability (P<0.05). Conclusion: Atrazine is capable of inducing DNA damage and chromatin abnormalities of spermatozoa which can contribute to a low fertilization rate.

Keywords: Atrazine, rats, spermatozoa

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