Deep-frying palm olein oil-fried street falafel induces testicular toxicity in rats

Falafel is the most common Egyptian street food, and deep-frying palm oil is a commonly used for frying it. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of deep-frying palm olein oil-fried street falafel on testes of Wistar rats. Twenty-one adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three equal groups and given treatment as follows: control group received only distilled water, fresh palm olein oil (FPO) group received FPO (1 ml/100 g BW/day) and deep-frying palm olein oil (DPO) group received DPO (1 ml/100 g BW/day) orally for 28 days. Serum level of testosterone, testicular tissue oxidative status, and sperm characteristics were determined. Testicular specimens were processed for histopathological examination. The results revealed that DPO group showed a significant (p<0.01) decrease in serum testosterone with significant (p<0.01) reduction of testicular glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, whereas testicular malondialdehyde was markedly (p<0.001) raised. There were significant decrease in epididymal sperm count (p<0.01), sperm progress motility (p<0.001), and increase abnormal sperm rate (p<0.001) in DPO group. Testicular histology in DPO group showed structural abnormalities which are compatible with lipid peroxidation and antioxidant deficiency. In Conclusion, deep-frying palm olein oil that used for the frying falafel induces testicular abnormalities in rats.