Research Information System
TURKIYE KLINIKLERI TIP BILIMLERI DERGISI, vol.31, no.1, pp.61-67, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of male infertility. In this study, we aimed to measure the antioxidant capacity in seminal plasma in fertile and infertile men using a recently developed automated measurement method. Material and Methods: The study group included samples of 55 males from infertile couples, and 16 healthy volunteers served as the control group. All samples had normal sperm parameters. Seminal total antioxidant response (TAR) and total oxidant status (TOS) were determined using colorimetric methods. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated as [(TOS/TAR) x100]. Free sulphydryl (SH) groups of semen samples were measured spectrophotometrically. Results: Seminal TAR was significantly lower and seminal TOS, OSI and SH activities were significantly higher in infertile group as compared with fertile donors. There were positive correlations between TAR and sperm parameters such as +4 motility (r= 0.386, p< 0.01), and morphology (r= 0.383, p< 0.01), whereas sperm concentrations (r= -0.333, p< 0.01) correlated negatively with TAR. In addition, TOS and OSI were, negatively correlated with sperm parameters such as motility, +4 motility and morphology (p< 0.01, for all). Conclusion: Increased oxidant status and decreased antioxidant response and the correlation between these parameters and sperm functions implicated that oxidative stress might play an important role in male infertility. We found decreased total antioxidant response in infertile patients using a simple, rapid and reliable automated colorimetric assay, which may suitable for use in any routine andrology laboratory.