Antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid on sodium fluoride induced cytotoxicity, oxidative damage, and apoptosis in Leydig cells

Abstract

Fluoride is a natural mineral that found abundantly in the earth's crust. Organic and inorganic fluoride elements are present in all water and soil sources, and people also take this element by consuming plants and animals as nutrients. Fluorine is in ionic form in drinking water and thus passes through the intestinal mucosa quickly. Fluoride affects male reproductive function. Endocrine disrupting effect of fluoride leads to decreased reproductive capacity, testicular spermatozoa concentration, testicular and auxiliary reproductive organs weights, reduced number of Leydig and Sertoli cells, and impaired activity of testosterone synthesis and steroidogenic enzymes in Leydig cells. In this study, cytotoxicity, oxidative damage, and apoptosis were analyzed after Leydig cells were treated with 1.5 ppm sodium fluoride (NaF) for 24 h, in addition to NaF to ascorbic acid (50 μM) as an antioxidant. The results of cytotoxicity showed that NaF significantly reduced cell viability and ascorbic acid ameliorate this effect of fluoride. We found that NaF cause oxidative damage via overproduction of intracellular hydroxyl radical and peroxidation of lipids in cell membrane. Ascorbic acid supplementation protects NaF-induced oxidative damage on Leydig cells. The findings demonstrated that ascorbic acid has protective effects of on apoptotic cell death and micronucleus formation caused by NaF in Leydig cells.