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Abstract
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Objectives: Development in agricultural industry has produced an infiltration of elements in the food chain. This also promotes the uneven distribution of essential elements in the animal body and changes their interactions. The purpose of this study was to investigate some heavy metals concentration in ram testis and their correlation on testosterone. Materials & Methods: 45 ram testis and blood samples were collected in Hamedan's slaughterhouse. After blood serum preparation, testosterone levels were measured by ELFA. Metals concentrations in testicular tissue were determined by flame atomic absorption. Statistical analyzes were performed using SAS software. Results & conclusion: The mean testosterone level was 1.63 ng/ml. The average measured amount (µg/g) of zinc, iron, copper, cadmium and lead in testicular tissue was 212.46, 150.53, 16.78, 0.22 and 3.54 , respectively. According to the results, high positive correlation between Zn with testosterone and positive correlation between Pb with testosterone was found. It is known that Cd and Pb are due to hormonal imbalance and it has been shown that Zn supplementation increases serum testosterone levels. According to results, Zn and Pb have positive correlation with testosterone and these metals can affect the amount of this hormone in the blood serum.
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