Impaired seminal antioxidant capacity in human semen with hyperviscosity or oligoasthenozoospermia

Antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma was evaluated in 120 semen samples s ubdivided into asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic specimens with normal consistency and into asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic sp ecimens with hyperviscosity. Semen samples (n=25) from normozoospermic dono rs were used as a control group. Scavenger antioxidant capacity of reactive oxygen species was evaluated by superoxide dismutase and catalase activity measurements, whereas the chain-breaking antioxidant efficiency was detect ed by total antioxidant status assessment. In semen with normal viscosity, unaltered enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity was revealed in t he asthenozoospermic specimens, whereas low superoxide dismutase activity w as detected in oligoasthenozoospermic samples. On the contrary, impairment of both the scavenger and chain-breaking antioxidative systems was revealed in asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic hyperviscous ejaculates, r egardless of sperm count. Catalase activity and total antioxidant status va lues were also reduced in the 2 subgroups of hyperviscous ejaculates compar ed with their respective matched controls, whereas similar superoxide dismu tase activities were detected in oligoasthenozoospermic samples with normal and high consistencies. These results suggest that asthenozoospermia could be related to an antioxidant deficiency only in combined ejaculate patholo gies, and that a severe impairment of the low and high molecular weight sem inal antioxidative capacities could be associated with semen hyperviscosity .