- A dietary compound found in tomatoes has been shown to improve sperm quality
- Men taking a dietary supplement of LactoLycopene had almost 40 per cent more fast swimming sperm with improvements to sperm size and shape
- New discovery could transform outlook for men with fertility problems
Sperm
quality can be improved with a simple diet supplement containing a compound
found in cooked tomatoes, according to new research by the University of
Sheffield.
The
discovery could transform the outlook for men with fertility problems and lead
to better ways to reduce the damaging impact of modern living on reproductive
health. Of all infertility cases, approximately 40 to 50 per cent are due to
"male factor" infertility.
The
first ever double-blind randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of
giving men a dietary compound called LactoLycopene, was led by Allan Pacey,
Professor of Andrology Reproduction and Head of the University of Sheffield's
Department of Oncology and Metabolism, and Dr Liz Williams, a leading
specialist in Human Nutrition at the University of Sheffield. The team
discovered it is possible to increase the proportion of healthy shaped sperm
(sperm morphology) and boost 'fast swimming' sperm by around 40 per cent.
Lycopene
can be found in some fruits and vegetables, but the main source in the diet is
from tomatoes. Lycopene is a pigment that gives tomatoes their red colour, but
dietary Lycopene is poorly absorbed by the human body, so the compound used for
the trial was a commercially available formulation called LactoLycopene;
designed by FutureYou Cambridge to improve bioavailability.
The
12-week trial designed by Dr Williams involved 60 healthy volunteers aged 19 to
30. Half took LactoLycopene supplements and the other half took identical
placebo (dummy pills) every day for 12 weeks. Neither the researchers nor the
volunteers knew who was receiving the LactoLycopene treatment and who was
receiving the placebo. Sperm and blood samples were collected at the beginning
and end of the trial.
"We
didn't really expect that at the end of the study there would be any difference
in the sperm from men who took the tablet versus those who took the placebo.
When we decoded the results, I nearly fell off my chair," said Professor
Pacey, a world expert in male reproduction.
"The
improvement in morphology - the size and shape of the sperm, was dramatic. We
used a computer system to make these measurements, which takes a lot of the
human error out of the results. Also, the person using the computer didn't know
who had taken LactoLycopene and who had taken the dummy pills either.
"This
was the first properly designed and controlled study of the effect of
LactoLycopene on semen quality, and it has spurred us to want to do more work
with this molecule."
"We
were surprised by the improvement in sperm quality shown by the results,"
said Dr Williams.
"This
was a small study and we do need to repeat the work in bigger trials, but the
results are very encouraging. The next step is to repeat the exercise in men
with fertility problems and see if LactoLycopene can increase sperm quality for
those men and whether it helps couples conceive and avoid invasive fertility
treatments."
Her
team, which included three other researchers Madeleine Park, Aisling Robinson
and Sophie Pitt, is hoping to embark on the new study as soon as possible.
Professor
Pacey said the work so far has not investigated the mechanism for Lycopene's
beneficial action but it is a known powerful antioxidant, so is potentially
inhibiting the damage caused by oxidation of sperm which is a known cause of
male fertility problems. He believes this antioxidant effect is key in
producing the improvements in sperm quality seen in the trial, and is hoping to
investigate this more.
The
results have been published in the European Journal of Nutrition.
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