Testicular toxicity of rinbacin in rats

Rinbacin is a local Nigerian herbal remedy. The effects of rinbacin on testicular histology were studied in prepubertal rats. Sexually immature male rats, divided into seven per group, were given rinbacin in drinking waters at 0, 26.25 g/l, or 52.50 g/l for 13 weeks, after which the animals were killed and testes excised, weighed, and processed for histologic study. The epididymal sperm number (ESN) was determined. There were no significant effects of either the low or high doses of rinbacin on fluid intake, body weight, testicular weight, and testis-body weight ratio. There was, however, a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the ESN of animals at both doses of rinbacin. Histologic examination of the testes indicated that the high dose of rinbacin induced significant degenerative changes, while the low dose had only a mild effect on testicular histology. Rinbacin decreases the ESN and causes degenerative lesions, especially at the high dose, in prepubertal rats.