Background & Aims: Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic antibacterial agent belonging to the family of fluoroquinolones with a very broad spectrum against microbial pathogens, especially Gram-negative infectious diseases that has been approved in more than 100 countries world-wide. This study was planned to search the effects of ciprofloxacin after inducing in rat Spermatogenesis.

Materials & Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into two groups control (n=10) and experimental (n=10). The test group was fed 12.5 mg/kg (gavages) ciprofloxacin daily for sixty days however, the control group was fed vehicle. In the sixtieth day, the epididymis tissues of rat were removed in both groups and sperm was collected from cauda epididymis then it was prepared for analysis. Light microscopic observations showed that TUNEL positive apoptotic cells increased in cauda epididymis in the experimental group when it was compared to the control group (P<0.01).

Results: Sperm analysis revealed remarkable decrease in fertility index, sperm count percentages of motile sperm, and viability in the experimental group as compared with the control group. The statistical analysis used was Fishers test (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Since our study revealed that ciprofloxacin had harmful effects on spermatoa in rats and induced apoptosis in epididymal epithelium, it can be suggested that ciprofloxacin may decrease fertility rate indices and must be prescribed carefully.