Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Association Between Dietary Antioxidants and Semen Parameters: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Iranian Infertile Men

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We aimed to explore the relationship between intakes of food-derived antioxidants (zinc, vitamin E, β-carotene, and selenium) and semen parameters in an infertile male population. This is a cross-sectional study among infertile men (> 18 years) referred to Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center in Iran from March 2019 to October 2019. The main outcome measures were semen volume, sperm count, concentration, total motility, and morphology. Micronutrients considered in this analysis were zinc, selenium, β-carotene, and vitamin E. A total of 350 infertile men with a mean (SE) age of 34.77 (0.42) were included in this study. Selenium intake tended to be positively associated with higher semen volume (β = 0.79; 95% CI: − 0.01, 1.59) and sperm total motility after adjustment for main confounders (β = 2.64; 95% CI: − 3.61, 8.89). Intake of β-carotene was only associated with higher sperm total motility (β = 5.46; 95% CI: − 0.84, 11.77). No significant association was detected between intakes of zinc and vitamin E and semen parameters.

In a population of infertile adult men, selenium intake was associated with higher sperm total motility and semen volume, and in the case of β-carotene, better sperm total motility. Further, prospective studies are warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

  1. Organization WH (2010) WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, p 2020

    Google Scholar 

  2. Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebæk NE (1992) Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years. BMJ 305(6854):609–613

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Aitken RJ, Koopman P, Lewis SE (2004) Seeds of concern. Nature 432(7013):48–52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Skakkebæk NE, Jørgensen N, Main KM, Meyts ERD, Leffers H, Andersson AM et al (2006) Is human fecundity declining? International journal of andrology 29(1):2–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mehra BL, Skandhan KP, Prasad BS, Pawankumar G, Singh G, Jaya V (2018) Male infertility rate: a retrospective study. Urologia Journal 85(1):22–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Jungwirth A, Giwercman A, Tournaye H, Diemer T, Kopa Z, Dohle G et al (2012) European Association of Urology guidelines on Male Infertility: the 2012 update. Eur Urol 62(2):324–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Lewis SE, Boyle PM, McKinney KA, Young IS, Thompson W (1995) Total antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma is different in fertile and infertile men. Fertil Steril 64(4):868–870

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sharma RK, Pasqualotto FF, Nelson DR, Thomas AJ Jr, Agarwal A (1999) The reactive oxygen species—total antioxidant capacity score is a new measure of oxidative stress to predict male infertility. Hum Reprod 14(11):2801–2807

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Pasqualotto FF, Sharma RK, Nelson DR, Thomas AJ Jr, Agarwal A (2000) Relationship between oxidative stress, semen characteristics, and clinical diagnosis in men undergoing infertility investigation. Fertil Steril 73(3):459–464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Braga DPdAF, Halpern G, Rita de Cássia SF, Setti AS, Iaconelli Jr A, Borges E Jr. Food intake and social habits in male patients and its relationship to intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes. Fertility and sterility. 2012;97(1):53–9.

  11. Giahi L, Mohammadmoradi S, Javidan A, Sadeghi MR (2016) Nutritional modifications in male infertility: a systematic review covering 2 decades. Nutr Rev 74(2):118–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Wong WY, Thomas CM, Merkus JM, Zielhuis GA, Steegers-Theunissen RP (2000) Male factor subfertility: possible causes and the impact of nutritional factors. Fertil Steril 73(3):435–442

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Scott R, MacPherson A, Yates R, Hussain B, Dixon J (1998) The effect of oral selenium supplementation on human sperm motility. Br J Urol 82(1):76–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Rolf C, Cooper T, Yeung C, Nieschlag E (1999) Antioxidant treatment of patients with asthenozoospermia or moderate oligoasthenozoospermia with high-dose vitamin C and vitamin E: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Hum Reprod 14(4):1028–1033

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Keskes-Ammar L, Feki-Chakroun N, Rebai T, Sahnoun Z, Ghozzi H, Hammami S et al (2003) Sperm oxidative stress and the effect of an oral vitamin E and selenium supplement on semen quality in infertile men. Archives of andrology 49(2):83–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Greco E, Iacobelli M, Rienzi L, Ubaldi F, Ferrero S, Tesarik J (2005) Reduction of the incidence of sperm DNA fragmentation by oral antioxidant treatment. Journal of andrology 26(3):349–353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Omu A, Al-Azemi M, Kehinde E, Anim J, Oriowo M, Mathew T (2008) Indications of the mechanisms involved in improved sperm parameters by zinc therapy. Med Princ Pract 17(2):108–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Murata M, Kawanishi S (2000) Oxidative DNA damage by vitamin A and its derivative via superoxide generation. J Biol Chem 275(3):2003–2008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Silver EW, Eskenazi B, Evenson DP, Block G, Young S, Wyrobek AJ (2005) Effect of antioxidant intake on sperm chromatin stability in healthy nonsmoking men. Journal of andrology 26(4):550–556

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Eskenazi B, Kidd S, Marks A, Sloter E, Block G, Wyrobek A (2005) Antioxidant intake is associated with semen quality in healthy men. Hum Reprod 20(4):1006–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mínguez-Alarcón L, Mendiola J, López-Espín JJ, Sarabia-Cos L, Vivero-Salmerón G, Vioque J et al (2012) Dietary intake of antioxidant nutrients is associated with semen quality in young university students. Hum Reprod 27(9):2807–2814. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/des247

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Mendiola J, Torres-Cantero AM, Vioque J, Moreno-Grau JM, Ten J, Roca M et al (2010) A low intake of antioxidant nutrients is associated with poor semen quality in patients attending fertility clinics. Fertil Steril 93(4):1128–1133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Estruch R, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Corella D, Basora-Gallisá J, Ruiz-Gutierrez V, Covas MI et al (2009) Effects of dietary fibre intake on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in subjects at high risk. J Epidemiol Community Health 63(7):582–588

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Künzle R, Mueller MD, Hänggi W, Birkhäuser MH, Drescher H, Bersinger NA (2003) Semen quality of male smokers and nonsmokers in infertile couples. Fertil Steril 79(2):287–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Menkveld R, Kruger T (1995) Advantages of strict (Tygerberg) criteria for evaluation of sperm morphology. International journal of andrology 18:36–42

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Agarwal A, Makker K, Sharma R (2008) Clinical relevance of oxidative stress in male factor infertility: an update. Am J Reprod Immunol 59(1):2–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Valko M, Morris H, Cronin M (2005) Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress. Curr Med Chem 12(10):1161–1208

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Wagner H, Cheng JW, Ko EY (2018) Role of reactive oxygen species in male infertility: an updated review of literature. Arab J Urol 16(1):35–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Alahmar AT (2018) The effects of oral antioxidants on the semen of men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Clin Exp Reprod Med 45(2):57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Zareba P, Colaci DS, Afeiche M, Gaskins AJ, Jørgensen N, Mendiola J et al (2013) Semen quality in relation to antioxidant intake in a healthy male population. Fertil Steril 100(6):1572–1579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.08.032

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Rahimlou M, Sohaei S, Nasr-Esfahani M, Nouri M (2019) Dietary antioxidant intake in relation to semen quality parameters in infertile men: a cross-sectional study. Clinical nutrition research 8(3):229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Ko EY, Sabanegh ES Jr, Agarwal A (2014) Male infertility testing: reactive oxygen species and antioxidant capacity. Fertil Steril 102(6):1518–1527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Sharma P, Kaur P, Ghanghas P, Kaur J, Kaushal N (2020) Selenium ameliorates ibuprofen induced testicular toxicity by redox regulation: running head: Se protects against NSAID induced testicular toxicity. Reprod Toxicol 96:349–358

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Alahmar AT, Sengupta P (2021) Impact of coenzyme Q10 and selenium on seminal fluid parameters and antioxidant status in men with idiopathic infertility. Biol Trace Elem Res 199(4):1246–1252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Schoenmakers E, Chatterjee K (2020) Human disorders affecting the selenocysteine incorporation pathway cause systemic selenoprotein deficiency. Antioxid Redox Signal 33(7):481–497

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Wu S, Wang M, Deng Y, Qiu J, Zhang X, Tan J (2020) Associations of toxic and essential trace elements in serum, follicular fluid, and seminal plasma with In vitro fertilization outcomes. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety. 204:110965

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Catoni C, Peters A, Schaefer HM (2008) Life history trade-offs are influenced by the diversity, availability and interactions of dietary antioxidants. Anim Behav 76(4):1107–1119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Schmid TE, Eskenazi B, Marchetti F, Young S, Weldon RH, Baumgartner A et al (2012) Micronutrients intake is associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. Fertil Steril 98(5):1130–7.e1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by Semnan University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Shokoofeh Talebi

  2. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Arman Arab & Nasim Sorraya

Authors
  1. Shokoofeh Talebi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arman Arab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nasim Sorraya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conception and Design: S.T, N.S

Acquisition of Data: S.T, N.S

Analysis and Interpretation of Data: A.A

Drafting the Manuscript: S.T, N.S

Revising It for Intellectual Content: S.T, A.A, N.S

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nasim Sorraya.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was conceived according to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki. Following approval of the research Ethics Committee of Semnan University of Medical Sciences (IR.SEMUMS.REC.1397.277) was carried out. The informed written consent form was obtained from each participant.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Talebi, S., Arab, A. & Sorraya, N. The Association Between Dietary Antioxidants and Semen Parameters: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Iranian Infertile Men. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 3957–3964 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-03007-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-03007-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation