Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health
- ISSN: ISSN: 3065-9078
Shigeru Suna and Fumihiko Jitsunari
Background: Mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), a metabolite of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), stimulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and disrupts carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. The oxidative stress generated may be closely related to the toxicity of DEHP. The authors report on the effects of simultaneous consumption of drinking water containing the hydroxyl radical scavengers’ ethanol or caffeine on diet-mediated DEHP toxicity.
Method: Four-week-old male SD rats were divided into control, DEHP, DEHP+ethanol and DEHP+caffeine groups (6 rats per group). The treatment groups were fed 1% (w/w) DEHP diet and tap water or 5% (v/v) ethanol or 0.05% (w/w) caffeinecontaining water for 1 week.
Result: Dietary exposure to DEHP resulted in a slight decrease in body weight, a significant decrease in testicular weight, and a significant increase in liver weight. There was a significant negative correlation between plasma MEHP concentration and final body weight of the rats; ethanol and caffeine administration slightly suppressed the decrease in testicular weight. The relative testicular weights (% of body weight) of the control and DEHP groups showed a strong negative correlation with testicular MEHP concentration. In contrast, the relative testicular weights of the DEHP+ethanol and DEHP + caffeine groups showed weak negative correlation with testicular MEHP concentration, and the slope of the regression line was more moderate than that of the control and DEHP alone groups. However, ethanol and caffeine administration did not significantly suppress the increase in liver weight. Plasma glucose levels were significantly lower in the DEHP-only group than in the control group, but were slightly improved by ethanol or caffeine administration. Plasma lipid-related markers such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were lower in all DEHP-treated groups than in controls and were not improved by concurrent ethanol or caffeine administration.
Conclusion: Ethanol and caffeine were found to improve testicular atrophy and hypoglycemia caused by DEHP. This effect may be due to the oxidant scavenging ability of ethanol and caffeine.