Abstract

Background Prescribing antidepressant drugs is becoming common. These drugs are known to affect sexual functions. Objective The study is aimed to assess the effects of amitriptyline and venlafaxine on sperm parameters and evaluate Malondialdehyde (MDA) and 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl values in BALB/ mice spermatozoa. Materials and Methods Forty adult male BALB/c mice were separated into five groups. Group Ι (control) received distilled water; group ΙΙ amitriptyline (4 mg/kg); group ΙΙΙ amitriptyline (4 mg/kg) +vitamin C (10 mg/kg); group ΙV venlafaxine (2 mg/kg); and group V received vitamin C (10 mg/kg) + venlafaxine (2 mg/kg). All drugs were administered by oral gavage for 35 days. After excision of caudal epididymis, it was located in 1 mL Ham's F10 medium at 37oC for 15 min and then analysis of sperm parameters was performed. To examine lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant capacity, the MDA and 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl were measured, respectively. Results The mean sperm parameters in the group treated with amitriptyline were significantly lower than in the other groups. MDA tests showed a significant difference between amitriptyline and control groups (p=0.007). Conclusion The results of this study showed that amitriptyline consumption can weaken sperm parameters, which can be attributed to the increased production of ROS and toxicity resulting from amitriptyline consumption. Moreover, venlafaxine improved sperm parameters in mice and the lipid peroxidation in this group did not change compared to the control group.