Effect of T_(4) and T_(7), compounds isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, on the rates of chromosome aberration and micronuclei formation in spermatogenic cells of male rats

The present study was to investigate the effects of antifertility doses of T 4 and T 7 on the occurrence of chromosome aberration and micronuclei formation in spermatogenic cells of male SD rats. The rats were given orally either T 4 80 μg/kg·d -1 or T 7 317 μg/kg·d -1 for 10 weeks. After that the chromosome aberration and micronuclei rates were examined and compared with those of the control group. It was shown that there were no significant difference in these parameters between the two groups and between either group and the control ( P 0.05). However the data of T 7 were closer to those of the control. Results suggested that both T 4 and T 7 did not damage the genetic material, while T 7 might be better than T 4 in this respect.