The Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Histomorphometric Changes of Seminal Vesicle and Epididymis in Rat Offspring: An Experimental Study

Caffeine decreases the testis volume and the number of spermatogenic cells in seminiferous tubules of rat testis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of caffeine exposure during pregnancy and lactation on seminal vesicle and epididymis in rat offspring.

  In this experimental study, 21female pregnant rats were divided into control and experimental groups (two groups). The experimental groups 1 and 2 received caffeine via drinking water during pregnancy and lactation (26 and 45 mg/kg/bw, respectively). The structural changes in seminal vesicle and epididymis were studied by using histological methods on day 120 of postnatal development (n=5, selected randomly from each group). Data were statistically assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc Test.

The high dose caffeine treated group decreased the epithelium height of seminal vesicle compared with the control group; however, the differences were not significant (p=0.909). The thickness of the muscle layer of the seminal vesicles in the high dose caffeine treated group increased compared with the control group (p<0.001). Significant decreases in epithelium height of tubules of the epididymis in the high dose caffeine treated group was observed compared with the control group (p=0.047), and the diameter of the tubules of epididymis in the high dose caffeine treated group decreased compared with the control group (p<0.001).

The results of this study showed high dose caffeine can induce histomorphological changes in the seminal vesicle and epididymis of rat.