Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that has been considered involved in fertility, but studies have mostly focused on alpha-tocopherol. Our study aimed at measuring, by an isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method, alpha- and gamma-tocopherol concentration in human semen in a large and well-characterised population (134 men with different semen parameters and in varicocele patients), as well as their potential role in male fertility. We carried out freeze/thaw experiments in 15 samples with the two isomers in the cryoprotective medium. Moreover, our study included 10 subjects supplemented in vivo with alpha-tocopherol for 90 days. In seminal plasma, gamma-tocopherol concentration was significantly lower in the varicocele group than in the normozoospermic group. We observed that gamma-tocopherol, supplemented to cryopreservation medium, induced a higher post-thaw human sperm viability and motility than alpha-tocopherol. The results of in vivo alpha-tocopherol supplementation showed a decrease in gamma-tocopherol concentration with increasing alpha-tocopherol level in blood. This is the first report related to gamma-tocopherol distribution in human semen analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. gamma-tocopherol would not seem to be related to semen parameters but to cellular oxidative condition. This tocopherol may contribute to human health in a yet unexplored way.

Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels in human semen and their potential functional implications / Zerbinati, Chiara; Caponecchia, Luisa; Fiori, Cristina; Sebastianelli, Annalisa; Salacone, Pietro; Ciacciarelli, Marco; Iuliano, Luigi. - In: ANDROLOGIA. - ISSN 1439-0272. - 52:4(2020). [10.1111/and.13543]

Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels in human semen and their potential functional implications

Iuliano, Luigi
2020

Abstract

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that has been considered involved in fertility, but studies have mostly focused on alpha-tocopherol. Our study aimed at measuring, by an isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method, alpha- and gamma-tocopherol concentration in human semen in a large and well-characterised population (134 men with different semen parameters and in varicocele patients), as well as their potential role in male fertility. We carried out freeze/thaw experiments in 15 samples with the two isomers in the cryoprotective medium. Moreover, our study included 10 subjects supplemented in vivo with alpha-tocopherol for 90 days. In seminal plasma, gamma-tocopherol concentration was significantly lower in the varicocele group than in the normozoospermic group. We observed that gamma-tocopherol, supplemented to cryopreservation medium, induced a higher post-thaw human sperm viability and motility than alpha-tocopherol. The results of in vivo alpha-tocopherol supplementation showed a decrease in gamma-tocopherol concentration with increasing alpha-tocopherol level in blood. This is the first report related to gamma-tocopherol distribution in human semen analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. gamma-tocopherol would not seem to be related to semen parameters but to cellular oxidative condition. This tocopherol may contribute to human health in a yet unexplored way.
2020
GC-MS analysis; male fertility; oxidative stress; sperm cryopreservation; vitamin E
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels in human semen and their potential functional implications / Zerbinati, Chiara; Caponecchia, Luisa; Fiori, Cristina; Sebastianelli, Annalisa; Salacone, Pietro; Ciacciarelli, Marco; Iuliano, Luigi. - In: ANDROLOGIA. - ISSN 1439-0272. - 52:4(2020). [10.1111/and.13543]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1676230
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