Bisphenol A (BPA) is reported to impair male fertility. The alleviating effect of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on sperm oxidative damage caused by BPA exposure was analysed for the first time. In this study, the effect of APS (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 mg/mL) on motility of BPA-exposed sperm, energy metabolism indexes, and antioxidant parameters was evaluated. In addition, the effects of APS supplementation on protein tyrosine phosphorylation of BPA-exposed sperm were assessed. The results showed that the addition of APS (0.5 and 0.75 mg/mL) significantly increased motility of BPA-exposed sperm by decreasing the content of malondialdehyde and improving activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase (p < .05). Administration of different doses of APS to BPA-exposed sperm improved mitochondrial membrane potential and energy production (p < .05). Moreover, APS protected and alleviated tyrosine phosphorylation protein on the principal-pieces of BPA-exposed sperm flagella. In conclusion, supplementation with APS enhanced the antioxidant capacity of BPA-exposed sperm and improved in vitro capacitation, thereby improving the reproductive capacity of sperm exposed to environmental hormones.
Keywords: Astragalus polysaccharide; bisphenol A; capacitation; sperm; tyrosine phosphorylation.
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