Coenzyme Q10 effects on non-enzymatic total antioxidant capacity in seminal plasma of varicocele patients

Abstract

In order to investigate antioxidant systems in varicocele (VAR), we studied the correlation between non-enzymatic total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and seminal parameters and subsequently the effect of supplementation of antioxidant, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). TAC was determined in seminal plasma of 27 VAR patients (10 oligospermic and 17 normospermic) and 24 non-VAR controls (7 with idiopathic oligospermia and 17 normospermic). We measured the interaction of system H 2O 2-metamyoglobin with chromogen ABTS, whose radical cation is spectroscopically detectable. The length of latency phase (Lag) in ABTS accumulation is proportional to antioxidant concentration. Lag was significantly greater in all VAR vs. control subjects; a multivariate analysis indicated a very high inverse correlation between FSH and the percentage of motile progressive cells, which was not further modified by addition of Lag length to the statistical model. CoQ10 treatment (100 mg/daily for 3 months) significantly increased the Lag phase. We maintain that greater FSH levels, achieved by inducing a more efficient utilisation of antioxidants by spermatozoa, may counterbalance VAR-induced spermatozoa deficit.