The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible beneficial effects of diet supplementation with a highly concentrated and purified docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) formula on human sperm function. We performed a prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled intervention study. One-hundred eighty human semen samples from sixty infertile patients recruited in a private assisted reproduction center were included. All samples were examined according to World Health Organization guidelines. We analyzed macroscopic and microscopic sperm parameters, oxidative stress, apoptosis, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation before and after supplementation with different DHA daily doses (0.5, 1 and 2 g) or placebo for 1 and 3 months. No differences were found in traditional sperm parameters except for progressive sperm motility, with a significant increase after DHA ingestion after the first month with 1 or 2 g doses and after 3 months with 0.5 g of DHA. This effect was more evident in asthenozoospermic patients. No differences were found in any molecular semen parameter except oxidative stress, in which a slight benefit was observed after DHA treatment. In conclusion, this study support previous indications that highlight the importance of DHA supplementation as a means of improving sperm quality in asthenozoospermic men.

Following a study on the effect of several physical (brushing and ultrasound) and chemical (antiseptic and antibiotic) treatments on the brown seaweed Stypopodium zonale (Lamoroux) Papenfuss (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae), bactericidal treatments that were not phytotoxic to the alga were selected. The sterilization protocol consisted of 1) surface brushing of the explants, 2) incubation in the antiseptic betadine (0.50%) for 5 min, and 3) incubation in an antibiotic mixture (650 mg · L−1 kanamycin, neomycin, and penicillin G) for 48 h. The response of the material to the treatments was assessed by means of an oxygen electrode, and a bacterial test was performed to test bactericidal efficiency. The protocol rendered photosynthetically active axenic explants of S. zonale and other members of the order (e.g. Zonaria tournefortii(Lam.) Montagne).