The effect of oral selenium supplementation on human sperm motility

Abstract

Objectives To determine whether the decline in selenium intake and selenium status in men in the West of Scotland might be a contributory factor to male subfertility. Patients and methods Two semen samples were collected from patients attending a subfertility clinic and those patients with samples showing reduced motility were invited to participate in an ethically approved double‐blind clinically controlled trial with informed consent. Sixty‐nine patients were recruited and received either placebo, selenium alone or selenium plus vitamins A, C and E daily for 3 months. A further semen sample was collected at the end of the trial. Plasma selenium status was determined at the beginning and end of the trial period, as was total sperm density and motility. Results Plasma selenium concentrations were significantly (P<0.001) higher in both selenium‐treated groups than in controls. No significant effect of treatment on sperm density was recorded. Sperm motility increased in both selenium‐treated groups, in contrast to a slight decline in the placebo group, but the difference was not significant. However, as the provision of additional vitamins had no effect on any variable measured it was considered justified to combine the two selenium‐treated groups and compare them with the placebo treatment. On this basis, selenium treatment significantly (P<0.002) increased plasma selenium concentrations and sperm motility (P=0.023) but sperm density was again unaffected. Five men (11%) achieved paternity in the treatment group, in contrast to none in the placebo group. Conclusion This trial confirms the result of an earlier study, that selenium supplementation in subfertile men with low selenium status can improve sperm motility and the chance of successful conception. However, not all patients responded; 56% showed a positive response to treatment. The low selenium status of patients not supplemented again highlights the inadequate provision of this essential element in the Scottish diet.

The role of antioxidant therapy in the treatment of male infertility: an overview

“…Fifteen in vivo studies 31,36,41,47,50,51,[62][63][64][65][66][67]69,76,82 included pregnancy rate among the end points measured; in two of these studies, a higher pregnancy rate was achieved, but was not statistically significant. 47,76 In another two studies, the pregnancy rate was lower in the antioxidant-treated group than in the control group, although the comparison was against clomiphene citrate or mesterolone rather than placebo. 50,51 In yet another two studies, no effect was observed on pregnancy rate, and in all of the remaining trials, a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate was observed.…”

“…Vezina et al 35 combined selenium and vitamin E, leading to improvements in sperm motility, morphology and viability; however, concentration did not change significantly, as already discussed. In 1998, Scott et al 76 conducted a trial with 64 men (of whom 46 had previously been diagnosed with OAT and 16 were classified as subfertile), administering selenium alone or in combination with vitamins A, C and E at daily doses of 100 mg, 1 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg respectively. No improvement was observed in sperm concentration after 3 months, although motility was increased in treated subjects.…”

Complementary And Alternative Medicine Practice in Infertility

“…Selenyum ile E vitamini takviyesi yapilan 54 erkek hastada yine ayni sonuç-lar elde edilmiştir. Sperm yoğunluğunda azalma olmamasina rağmen, hareketliliğinde azalma meydana gelmiştir (31,32) .…”

Evaluation of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for determining Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in bovine semen samples using a simple sample dilution method

“…The analysis makes possible to directly evaluate the concentrations of the elements of interest in the reproductive cells and seminal fluid, which can determine the semen quality and fertility success. 8,[10][11][12][13][14] The semen analysis is also useful in the evaluation of the exposure to toxic metals in the environment. 1,6 The analysis of trace elements in biological samples is predominantly performed using atomic spectrometry techniques, such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) 24 and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).…”