Abstract
Data about the levels of free L-carnitine, an epididymal marker in human semen, are contradictory and unclear, particuliarly in their releationship to fertility. This can perhaps be explained by the absence of any studies of seminal L-carnitine in a large group of fertile men, and by the lack of consideration of factors influencing its secretion. In this study, free L-carnitine was determined using a spectrophotometric method in deproteinized semen samples from fertile (n = 162) and infertile men without azoospermia (n = 303). Our results can be summarized as follows: 1 Infertile men were found to have significantly lower (P < 0.001) seminal carnitine levels (755 ± SD 499 nmoles) compared with fertile men (1010 ± 570). 2 Percentiles have been calculated for fertile men, and ‘normal’ values proposed (10th percentile = 390 and 90th percentile = 1830 nmoles). 3 Distribution of the levels of L-carnitine were asymmetric in fertile as well as in infertile men (median: 922 nmoles vs 645). 4 In both groups, a significant increase in carnitine levels was observed with increasing length of abstinence, and a decrease in the ratio of carnitine/days of abstinence. Methodological, physiological and pathological factors which may explain these results are discussed.
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