Abstract:
OBJECTIVE :
This study evaluated the effect of chronic cassava meals on some reproductive parameters of male albino rats.
METHODS :
Twenty-four sexually mature albino rats were divided into four groups which received oral treatments from a variety of cassava products containing cyanogenic glycosides in varying quantities: Group A—Control (received 300 g normal rat feeds); Group B (received 50 g red garri at a concentration of 150 ppm cyanogenic glycosides/rat/day); Group C (received 50 g white garri at a concentration of 200 ppm cyanogenic glycosides/rat/day); and Group D (received 50 g raw cassava at a concentration of 400 ppm cyanogenic glycosides/rat/day). After 60 days of treatment, male reproductive organs were harvested from the rats for histological examination. Also noted were the weights of the body and the organs.
RESULTS :
The weight of the body and reproductive organs significantly changed in group D after receiving raw cassava at a dose of 400 ppm/rat/day. Compared to the group treated with red garri at 100 ppm/rat/day cyanogenic glycosides, which showed no significant changes in body weight gain or the weight of the reproductive organs, the white garri group showed substantial changes in the testis and prostate weight. The group given 150 ppm/rat/day of red garri did not exhibit any changes in histology, but the groups given 150 ppm/rat/day of white garri and 400 ppm/rat/day of raw cassava displayed testicular atrophy, degeneration, vacuolation, decreased secretion, and desquamation of glandular epithelium in the prostate.
CONCLUSIONS :
This study has revealed that the concentration of cyanogenic glycosides is higher in raw cassava and white garri than red garri, and that 400 ppm/day of cyanogenic glycosides may have negative impacts on their ability to reproduce.
