A new discovery reveals that vitamin C may help protect reproductive health from a harmful environmental chemical.
Using a fish model, researchers found that exposure to potassium perchlorate, a chemical commonly used in explosives and fireworks, can harm sperm production, potentially reducing fertility.
Led by Ramji Bhandari, an associate professor at the University of Missouri, the team used Japanese rice fish, called medaka, to investigate how the chemical affects reproductive health.
The researchers found that male fish exposed to potassium perchlorate alone experienced a dramatic drop in fertility and clear damage to their testes. But fish exposed to vitamin C and the chemical at the same time showed improved fertility and less damage to their testes.
“Exposure to chemicals in the environment can have a big impact on reproductive health, but our discovery with a fish model offers hope that vitamin C may play a powerful role as an antioxidant in protecting sperm health against the harmful effect of potassium perchlorate,” Bhandari says.
“While more research is needed, fish are good models for studying reproductive health because their reproductive genes and processes are similar to humans.”
Bhandari’s work centers on understanding how environmental contaminants affect the health of humans and wildlife, as well as finding mitigation strategies to protect against those threats. His interest in potassium perchlorate began 10 years ago after a Society of Toxicology conference, where he learned that military personnel face higher infertility rates than the general public. Evidence showed some service members had higher levels of potassium perchlorate in their blood due to their repeated close proximity to explosives.
“I became curious what impact that exposure may have on reproductive health. In our recent study, we discovered potassium perchlorate exposure causes oxidative stress, which interferes with genes and pathways involved in the sperm production process,” Bhandari says.
“The good news is we know vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, and we just discovered it can successfully protect the sperm production process against that oxidative stress by restoring molecular pathways involved in male fertility.”
The research underscores both the potential reproductive risks of potassium perchlorate—considered an emerging environmental contaminant—and the promising potential of vitamin C as a protective intervention.
The findings could be especially relevant for people in military, industrial, or environmental settings, although more research is needed to better understand how preventative treatments could benefit humans.
The research appears in Environmental Science and Technology.
Source: University of Missouri
