Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 10;51(1):7.
doi: 10.1007/s10695-024-01443-1.

Disruptive effects of genistein and daidzein on steroidogenesis, testicular development and maturation of Cyprinus carpio (Linn, 1758) males

Vasanthakumaran Kumar  1 , Pallath Muhammed Nuzaiba  2 , Subodh Gupta  1 , Subrata Dasgupta  1 , Sunil Kumar Nayak  3 , Arya Prabhakaran  1 , Chandan Gowramma Mahadevaswamy  1 , Atshaya Sundararajan  1 , Sangeetha Sankar  3 , Tincy Varghese  4
Affiliations

Disruptive effects of genistein and daidzein on steroidogenesis, testicular development and maturation of Cyprinus carpio (Linn, 1758) males

Vasanthakumaran Kumar et al. Fish Physiol Biochem. .

Abstract

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the combined effect of dietary soy phytoestrogens, specifically genistein and daidzein, on the gonadal recrudescence and maturation of male Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758). Adult male C. carpio (60 ± 10 g) were fed with a diet with no added genistein or daidzein (C), 110 mg/100 mg genistein (GL), 210 mg/100 g genistein (GH), 4 mg/100 g daidzein (DL), 8 mg/100 g daidzein (DH), combination of 110 mg/100 mg genistein and 4 mg/100 g daidzein (DGL, equivalent to 17.5% soybean meal) and combination of 210 mg/100 g genistein and 8 mg/100 g daidzein (DGH, equivalent to 35% soybean meal) for 60 days. The fish were spent by injection of the inducing agent before the experiment to maintain the homogeneity in maturity stages. Serum 11-ketotestosterone and 17β-estradiol levels increased substantially (p < 0.05), while serum cortisol and 17α,20β dihydroxy progesterone levels were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in GH, DH, DL, DGL and DGH groups. The gene expression of cyp19a1a and 20β-HSD were significantly downregulated (p < 0.05) in GH, DH, and DGH. The ratio of spermatozoa to spermatocytes was lower in high doses of phytoestrogens and their combination treatments (GH, DH and DGH) than in the lower dose fed groups. The GSI (gonad somatic index) values showed a dose-dependent increase in the isoflavone-fed groups. Hence, the study concluded that the feeding of diets with a combination of 210 mg/100 g genistein and 8 mg/100 g daidzein (DGH), which is equivalent to 35% of soybean meal in the diet, disrupted the sex steroid profile and steroidogenic enzymes expression and caused a delay in maturation in the male common carp. Thus, soybean meal can be included in the diet of male common carp broodstock at levels up to 17.5%. However, inclusion levels above 35% have been shown to impair normal reproductive function.

Keywords: 20β-HSD; Carp; Cortisol; Cyp19a1a; Phytoestrogens; Sex steroids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Ahmed Y, Idowu T, Adedeji H, Sogbesan O (2015) Sex reversal and growth performances in Clarias gariepinus fry fed dietary genistein under laboratory conditions. J Agric Food Technol 5:1–4
    1. Almstrup K, Fernández MF, Petersen JH, Olea N, Skakkebæk NE, Leffers H (2002) Dual effects of phytoestrogens result in u-shaped dose-response curves. Environ Health Perspect 110(8):743–748. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.02110743 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Aluru N, Renaud R, Leatherland JF, Vijayan MM (2005) Ah receptor-mediated impairment of interrenal steroidogenesis involves StAR protein and P450scc gene attenuation in rainbow trout. Toxicol Sci 84(2):260–269. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfi077 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bagheri T, Imanpoor MR, Jafari V, Bennetau-Pelissero C (2013) Reproductive impairment and endocrine disruption in goldfish by feeding diets containing soybean meal. Anim Reprod Sci 139(1–4):136–144 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bagheri T, Imanpoor MR, Jafari V (2014) Effects of diets containing genistein and daidzein in a long-term study on sex steroid dynamics of goldfish (Carassius auratus). Toxicol Ind Health 30(2):132–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233712452604 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources