The Impact of Adding Melatonin and Other Antioxidants on Post-Thaw Human Sperm Quality During Cryopreservation

Abstract

Sperm cryopreservation is the process of storing sperm for an extended period of time in order to maintain male fertility. Cryopreservation involves exposing germ cells to substances that prevent freezing, cooling them to below-freezing temperatures, storing, melting, and then removing the anti-freezing material when it has been used. It is helpful in cancer patients before chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Spermatozoa can be adversely impacted by reactive oxygen species by its detrimental effects on sperm membrane lipids, which cause ice crystal formation and the induction of oxidative stress (OS) during cryopreservation. Owing to the tight relationship between OS induction and cryopreservation, several recent researches have concentrated on the function of antioxidants in preserving male fertility. A variety of antioxidants have been developed for in vitro supplementation in an attempt to prevent the cellular harm brought on by cryopreservation. Examples of antioxidants include melatonin, catalase, superoxide dismutase, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids. When added to sperm extenders, melatonin, a natural hormone that plays a role in a number of sperm physiological processes, has frequently increased sperm viability and fertility. In order to determine whether it can protect human sperm from the damaging effects of cryopreservation, it was added to the sperm cryopreservation solution. Melatonin was added to freezing extenders in recent studies on mammals, and this increased the post-thaw activities of human sperm. Therefore, this study was aimed to review the background documents on the state-of-the-art scientific literature in this area of work. Also, this study reviewed the feasibility of employed melatonin in cryopreservation because it has antioxidant ability.