Total Antioxidant Capacity and Malondialdehyde Levels in Seminal Plasma Among The Varicocele-Suffering Men

Varicocele is the most common cause of male infertility with approximately 19 to 40% prevalence that leads to low sperm production and fertilization through several mechanisms. In this case-control study, seminal total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were investigated as one of the possible mechanism(s) by which varicocele may affect the sperm parameters quality and male infertility. Semen samples were provided from healthy (normalospermic; n=15) and varicocele-suffering (infertile; n=14) men at babol IVF centers, then analyzed according to WHO (World Health Organization/1998) standards. Seminal TAC and MDA levels in all the specimen were measured by FRAP and TBA methods, respectively. Based on the results, mean concentration (±S.D) of TAC in the seminal plasma of varicocele-suffering men (1092.43±370.56 µmol/l) was significantly lower (p<0.001) than that of the healthy men (2335.44±764.78 µmol/l). Moreover, MDA levels in seminal plasma of varicocele-suffering cases (0.92±0.27 nmol/ml) was significantly (p=0.001) higher than that of the healthy ones (0.57±0.22 nmol/ml). Discussion & It implies that low level of seminal TAC activity and subsequently high oxidative status could be regarded as one of the negative effects of varicocele on sperm quality and the function which initiates further studies.