Effect of gossypol on boar spermatozoa in vitro.

Gossypol, the active component in cottonseed oil, inhibits spermatogenesis in many mammals. Gossypol enhanced respiration and abolished forward motility of boar spermatozoa. The effective concentration was 10(-5) M, similar to that reported in its uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria. Its antifertility effect may be a combination of the effect on the developing spermatids as well as that on spermatozoal motility.