Is ethanol a testicular toxin?

A method is described by which the testis of the rat can be isolated and selectively perfused in vitro to examine the effect of potential gonadal toxins. Using this system, the effect of ethanol at levels commonly found in the plasma of nonalcoholic men who drink alcohol was evaluated. Ethanol was found to significantly reduce (p less than 0.01) testosterone production and secretion by the isolated perfused testis. The advantage of such a system is that it permits examination of the effect of specific testicular toxins, such as alcohol, independent of hepatic metabolism and/or hypothalamic-pituitary suppression by such substances. These results suggest that ethanol, independent of hepatic metabolism and/or hypothalamic-pituitary suppression, is a direct testicular toxin.