A marked fall (p < 0.01) in the testosterone production was recorded at a fluoride concentration of 100 ppm and testosterone synthesis was maximally inhibited (p < 0.01) at 200 ppm. There was a noticeable, though marginal, inhibition in testosterone synthesis even at 10 ppm fluoride concentration. From 1 ppm to 200 ppm, the degree of inhibition of testosterone synthesis seems to be dependent on fluoride concentration.
Perfluorochemicals are compounds in which all the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms. Because of their high capacity to dissolve oxygen, perfluorochemicals have been used as artificial oxygen carriers in organ perfusions. Previous experiments suggested that perfluorochemicals failed to support testosterone secretion by rat testes. We hypothesized that fluoride ions in the perfusion medium may have been the toxic factor. We tested this hypothesis by adding sodium fluoride to perf
