Status of vitamin E and reduced glutathione in semen of oligozoospermic and azoospermic patients

Aim: To investigate the status of seminal plasma reduced glutathione (GSH) and vitamin E in three different conditions of spermatogenesis: azoospermia , oligozoospermia and normospermia. Methods: Reduced glutathione was measur ed in the seminal plasma by the method of Moron er al (1979), and vitamin E estimation was performed by the method of Taylor et al (1976). Results: Vi tamin E levels in seminal plasma of oligospermic and azoospermic samples we re significantly decreased to 65.54% and 66.04% respectively as compared to the normospermic group. Levels of reduced glutathione were also significan tly decreased in oligospermic and azoospermic group, and the reduction in a zoospermic group (76.73%) was more pronounced than oligozoospermic group (6 2.07%). Conclusion: The decrease in reduced glutathione, an endogenous anti oxidant, levels in azoospermic and oligozoospermic conditions may cause dis ruption in the membrane integrity of spermatozoa as a consequence of increa sed oxidative stress.