INFLUENCE OF A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT OF ERUCIC ACID AND OTHER FATTY ACIDS ON FERTILITY IN THE RAT: STERILITY CAUSED BY ERUCIC ACID

Abstract

Male rats were raised on a diet of powdered Masters Meal with a supplement of 10% or more by weight of erucic acid. The animals suffered a progressive reduction in spermatogenesis and became completely sterile after about 5 months, despite their normal rate of growth and their apparently excellent state of health. Subsequent experiments have suggested that similar effects can be produced, though less readily, in adult rats on the same diet. Recovery of spermatogenesis apparently can take place provided testicular degeneration has not advanced too far. The impairment of spermatogenesis appears to be a specific effect of the erucic acid in the diet. The estrous cycles of female rats on the diet usually remained undisturbed but there was some interference with parturition. Few of the offspring survived for long because of deficient mammary development and lactation in the mother. The same impairment, occurred also when the animals were fed the diet with 15% by weight of oleic acid. The defects resemble those which occur in animals when fed a diet deficient in essential fatty acids. The suggestion is offered, therefore, that erucic acid may interfere with reproduction by interfering with the metabolism of the essential fatty acids. The administration of erucic acid in the diet may afford a new lead for the control of fertility.