Researchers in the US have discovered that vitamin C may protect reproductive health in fish from an emerging environmental contaminant widely used in industry and explosives.  

Researchers at the University of Missouri started investigating this subject after discovering that military personnel, who are regularly exposed to explosives, are more likely to face reproductive issues.  

“Fish are good models for studying reproductive health because their reproductive genes and processes are similar to humans,” explained Ramji Bhandari, from the University of Missouri and lead author of the study published in Environmental Science & Technology. 

By exposing male medaka fish, a well-studied fish whose genome is already known, to potassium perchlorate, they discovered that the fish had lower fertility rates and structural and genetic alterations in the testes, including genes associated with the response to harmful oxygen-derived metabolic byproducts. When fish were exposed to vitamin C at the same time, a well-known antioxidant, the detrimental effects on fertility were mitigated. 

Future research may address how vitamin C could be used to protect reproductive health of both wildlife and humans, especially at-risk groups like the military or industry workers.