Physical exercise associated with vitamin D chronic supplementation reduces kidney injury induced by monosodium glutamate.

The aim was to evaluate the effects of chronic vitamin D (VD) supplementation associated with regular swimming over renal histomorphometric aspects in obese rats. Thirty Wistar male rats (5 days old) were used. Twenty four rats were given subcutaneous injections of monosodium glutamate (MSG; 4 g/kg), and six control rats were given an equimolar saline solution. At 21-days-old, the MSG-treated rats were randomly distributed among sedentary animals (S) and exercised (E, swimming; 3x/week). These groups were subdivided into groups orally supplemented with VD (12 µg/kg; 3x/week) or not supplemented (NS), totaling Five experimental groups (n = 6 rats/group): MSG, MSG-SVD, MSG-ENS, MSG-EVD and control groups. In MSG-obese rats, there was such as a decrease in the diameter of the, glomerular tuft, Bowman's capsule, Bowman's space areas, and renal cortical thickness, compared to the control group. In MSG-SVD, MSG-ENS, and MSG-EVD animals, there was an increase in the cortical thickness in relation to the MSG group. In MSG-ENS and MSG-EVD animals, there was a reduction of tubular degeneration in relation to the MSG group. We conclude that physical exercise associated with Vitamin D supplementation can prevent of renal injury, increasing the thickness of the renal cortex and decrease the tubular degeneration.

Fenvalerate, a pyrethroid insecticide, adversely affects sperm production and storage in male rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential estrogenic activity of fenvalerate by examining reproductive and fertility capabilities in Wistar rats. Adult male animals were treated for 30 d with 20 or 40 mg/kg/d fenvalerate or corn oil (vehicle) by oral gavage. Further, a possible estrogenic activity of fenvalerate (0.4, 1, 4, 8, or 40 mg/kg) was tested after a 3-d treatment of immature female rats using the uterotrophic assay. Exposure to the higher dose of fenvalerate was toxic to testis and epididymis as shown by a decrease in the absolute weights and sperm counts in both organs. Although the sperm counts were reduced, the fertility and sexual behavior were similar in control rats and rats treated with 40 mg/kg pesticide. Fenvalerate did not exert estrogenic activity in vivo at the tested doses. Data suggest that fenvalerate treatment in this study failed to compromise fertility, possibly due to enhanced reproductive capacity in rodents compared to humans.