Formaldehyde (FA) is the leading cause of cellular injury and oxidative damage in testis that is one of the main infertility causes. There has been an increasing evidence of herbal remedies use in male infertility treatment. This assay examines the role of Ficus carica (Fc) leaf extracts in sperm parameters and testis of mice intoxicated with FA. Twenty-five adult male mice were randomly divided into control; sham; FA-treated (10 mg/kg twice per day); Fc-treated (200 mg/kg); and FA + Fc-treated groups. Cauda epididymal spermatozoa were analyzed for viability, count, and motility. Testes were weighed and gonadosomatic index (GSI) was calculated. Also, histoarchitecture of seminiferous tubules was assessed in the Haematoxylin and Eosin stained paraffin sections. The findings showed that FA significantly decreased GSI and increased percentage of immotile sperm compared with control group. Disorganized and vacuolated seminiferous epithelium, spermatogenic arrest, and lumen filled with immature germ cells were also observed in the testes. However, Fc leaf extracts improved sperm count, nonprogressive motility of spermatozoa, and GSI in FA-treated testes. Moreover, seminiferous tubule with spermatogenic arrest was rarely seen, indicating that Fc has the positive effects on testis and epididymal sperm parameters exposed with FA.

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Application of nonspecific phosphodiesterases inhibitors, such as pentoxifylline (PTX), is a strategy utilised to aid sperm selection from immotile sperm samples prior to ICSI. No extensive studies have yet been performed to verify the safety of the clinical outcomes of ICSI after PTX administration. In this article, we summarise the data reported in the literature that assess the implication of in vitro usage of PTX on sperm parameters, as well as clinical outcomes during assisted male reproduction programme.

Summary Cell phones operate with a wide range of frequency bands and emit radiofrequency-electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR). Concern on the possible health hazards of RF-EMR has been growing in many countries because these RF-EMR pulses may be absorbed into the body cells, directly affecting them. There are some in vitro and in vivo animal studies related to the consequences of RF-EMR exposure from cell phones on embryo development and offspring. In addition, some studies have revealed that RF-EMR from cellular phone may lead to decrease in the rates of fertilization and embryo development, as well as the risk of the developmental anomalies, other studies have reported that it does not interfere with in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection success rates, or the chromosomal aberration rate. Of course, it is unethical to study the effect of waves generated from cell phones on the forming human embryos. Conversely, other mammals have many similarities to humans in terms of anatomy, physiology and genetics. Therefore, in this review we focused on the existing literature evaluating the potential effects of RF-EMR on mammalian embryonic and fetal development.

There is a fast growing tendency in the use of herbal remedies in developing countries. One of the traditional medicines used for male infertility treatment is date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) pollen (DPP). Isolated spermatogonial stem cells and sertoli cells using enzymatic digestion were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 4% foetal bovine serum in the absence or presence of 0.06, 0.25 and 0.62 mg/mL concentrations of aqueous extract of DPP for 2 weeks. The assessment of mean number of the whole cells and the living cells showed that there were no significant differences between the mean viability percentage and proliferation rate between control and experimental groups (P>0.05). As there are no cytotoxicity effects of DPP in our cultural system, this system can be utilised for the enrichment or differentiation of these cells in clinical applications, cell replacement therapy, tissue regeneration and tissue engineering applications.