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Oxidative stress and role of antioxidants in male infertility

Normal functioning of any cell, including spermatozoa, requires balance between pro- and antioxidative mechanisms. Oxidative stress is a state of imbalance due to increased formation of reactive oxygen species and/or reduced activity of antioxidative mechanisms. The proposed mechanism of sperm function loss as a consequence of oxidativr stress includes excessive superoxide anion production, which may induce lipid peroxidation insperm membranes and consequently loss of their function. The question of whether the imbalance between prooxidants and antioxidants is only due to the superoxide anion overproduction, which may inhibit the antioxidative systems, or it is the consequence of deficient enzymatic and nonenzymatic compounds which scavenge or suppress the formation of free radicals, still awaits an answer. Therefore, the aim of this survey is to point to the importance of determination of prooxidative mechanisms as well as of intracellular protective systems in spermatozoa and extracellular antioxidative compounds in semen, for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

oxidative stress; pro-and antioxidants; spermatozoa; semen; male inferttility

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