Induction of Oxidative Stress following Long-term Ad-ministration of Aspartame at High Doses in Male Repro-ductive System of Mice

Background: Aspartame is a non-nutritive sweetener which widely used in a variety of foods, beverages, and medicine. In this study, effects of long-term administration of aspartame on oxidative stress biomarkers in testis tissue and sperm samples of male mice were evaluated.Materials and Methods: Thirty-six mature male mice were as-signed to four groups, 9 mice in each. Group I was the control and received 0.3 ml of distilled water. Groups II, III and IV received aspartame at doses 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg b.w, respec-tively. All groups received treatment via oral gavage. Animals were euthanized following 90 days. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glu-tathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured in testis tissue and sperm samples of animals.Results: The results showed that aspartame at doses of 80 and 160 doses significantly decreased testicular and seminal TAC and antioxidant enzymes and also increased NO and MDA.Conclusions: Based on the results, long-term administration of aspartame at high doses could induce oxidative stress in repro-ductive system of male mice.

Keywords:

Aspartame , Oxidative stress , Mice