The in vitro effects of superoxide, some commercially available antioxidants and red palm oil on sperm motility

Abstract

In this study, two commercially available superoxide scavengers, tetrakis (1-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin (Mn[III]TMPyP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as red palm oil (RPO), a natural vegetable oil, had been used to investigate their possible in vitro effects against the toxic effects of superoxide (O2·) on human sperm motility. Semen samples were obtained from 12 normozoospermic healthy volunteer donors aged between 19 and 23 years. The O2· donor 2,3-dimetoxyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMNQ) (2.5 mol L-1–100 mol L-1) was added to normozoospermic post-swim-up sperm in the presence or absence of Mn(III)TMPyP (50 mol L-1), SOD (50 IU) or RPO (0.1% or 0.5%). Computer-assisted semen analysis was used to analyze various motility parameters. The parameters of interest were percentage of motile cells, progressive motility, rapid cells and static cells. Concentrations of higher than 25 mol L-1 DMNQ were detrimental to sperm motility. Mn(III)TMPyP was able to attenuate the effect of O2· on the motility parameters. In vitro addition of SOD and RPO showed harmful effects on sperm motility.