Ascorbic Acid Supplementation and Spermatogenesis in Nigerian Men

Abstract

Background: The role of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant nutrient in the maturation of sperm cells has received considerable attention. A previous study from our laboratory showed reduced seminal and plasma ascorbic acid in subfertile patients. Method: Fifteen subfertile male patients mean age 36.4±0.9 years with sperm counts of 31.4±7, 08 x10 6 /cm 3 were given 200mg/day dose of ascorbic acid as supplement for four weeks and ten highly fertile male mean age 35.6±1.7 years with sperm count of 50.9±10.3 x10 6 /cm 3 volunteers were selected as controls. The biochemical parameters and anthropometric measurements were determined using standard methods. Result: Significant decreases were obtained in baseline sperm cell count (p<0.01), percentage (%) motility and %vitality (p<0.01), and the % of morphologically normal sperm cells (p<0.01) in the subfertile compared with the controls. The baseline plasma and seminal ascorbic acid concentrations were significantly reduced (p<0.001). The post-supplementation sperm cell count (p<0.001), % motility and %vitality (p<0.01) were significantly increased compared with the baseline values. Conclusion: The enhanced reversal of poor semen quality and semen ascorbic acid status with dietary supplementation of vitamin C in subfertile is a pointer to its positive role in the maintenance of sperm cell integrity. Further work is therefore required to elucidate our findings. Keyword: Ascorbic acid, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, semen, infertility subfertile.