Corrected Seminal Fructose Levels: Index of Secretory Activity of Seminal Vesicles

Abstract

Seminal fructose, sperm count, and sperm motility were measured in 340 men attending an infertility clinic. Seminal fructose correlates negatively with sperm count but not with sperm motility. The best correlation between sperm count and seminal fructose was obtained using the logarithm (log) of sperm count. When seminal fructose was multiplied by the log of sperm count obtaining a value named "corrected fructose," the correlation with sperm count disappeared, and there was positive correlation between corrected seminal fructose and sperm motility. Therefore, corrected seminal fructose level was significantly lower in asthenospermic than in normomotile subjects, irrespective of the sperm count. Corrected seminal fructose, but not seminal fructose levels, was lowered in subjects with either low levels of serum testosterone ( < 3 ng/ml) or evidence of an obstructive process in the reproductive tract. In both situations sperm motility was also reduced. The corrected fructose level was not affected by the presence of varicocele, hyperprolactinemia, or hyperserotoninemia. Measurement of corrected seminal fructose rather than seminal fructose may be a useful marker of the secretory activity of the seminal vesicles.

A Review of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Human Semen and the Formulation of a Semen Simulant

“…One group of researchers has proposed that absolute fructose concentration is not the best method for measuring seminal vesicle function and has further proposed a ''corrected fructose'' value, which is the fructose concentration (mg/mL) multiplied by the log of the sperm count (mil/mL) (Gonzales et al, 1988(Gonzales et al, , 1993. Gonzales et al showed that this corrected fructose value correlates well with measures of seminal vesicle dysfunction.…”

Functional Structure and Ultrastructure of Seminal Vesicles

“…This is further demonstrated by the absence of fructose in the ejaculates of patients with congenital absence of the seminal vesicles [52, 621. Fructose is found in seminal plasma in a range of 1.2-4.0 mg/ml [22], although it is not the only sugar present in the seminal vesicles. Smaller amounts of glucose, ribose, and fucose are also found in these glands.…”

Hypoprolactinemia as Related to Seminal Quality and Serum Testosterone

“…Previously we demonstrated that subjects with levels of serum testosterone below 3 ng/ml have reduced sperm motility and low corrected seminal fructose levels [14]. In the present study, 67% of subjects with hypoprolactinemia showed levels of corrected seminal fructose below normal.…”

“…In the present study, 67% of subjects with hypoprolactinemia showed levels of corrected seminal fructose below normal. Corrected seminal fructose is a marker of seminal vesicles function [14], and the function of these glands is mainly under androgenic control [14, 16, 20, 221. Whether, the higher incidence (67%) of subjects with low values of corrected seminal fructose among hypoprolactinemics is associated with the higher incidence (67%) of subjects with low serum testosterone levels in the same group of hypoprolactinemia, or whether hypoprolactinemia has also a direct effect on seminal vesicles function is still unknown.…”

“…Seminal fructose was corrected for sperm count by multiplying it by the logarithm of the sperm count as previously described [ 141. The normal range for corrected seminal fructose was 2.5 X lo6 to 8.0 x lo6 mg/ml spermatozoa/ml [14], and for seminal citric acid, it was 3.0-10.0 mg/ml. Hormonal Projile.…”