Semen and the W6/W3 PUFA ratio. Qualité du sperme et rapport W6/W3

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Table 2.

Fatty acid composition of serum and spermatozoa and anti-oxidant activity of seminal plasma in controls and patients.

Variables	Infertile men (n = 82)	Fertile men (n = 74)	P value
Fatty acid profile of the seruma
Omega-3 fatty acids
ALA	0.92 ± 0.41	1.3 ± 0.71	0.003
EPA	0.69 ± 0.43	0.94 ± 0.46	0.06
DHA	1.3 ± 0.73	1.9 ± 0.78	0.003
Omega-6 fatty acids
LA	34.6 ± 4.4	20.6 ± 3.1	0.002
AA	8.3 ± 2.1	5.3 ± 1.2	0.002
Measured omega-6/omega-3 ratio	14.8 ± 4.3	6.3 ± 2.2	0.001
AA/DHA ratio	6.4 ± 2.9	3.3 ± 1.8	0.001
LA/ALA ratio	37.6 ± 10.7	15.8 ± 4.4	0.001
AA/EPA ratio	12.0 ± 4.9	6.7 ± 2.6	0.001
Omega-3 index	2.0 ± 0.56	2.8 ± 0.61	0.003
Fatty acid profile of the spermatozoaa
Omega-3 fatty acids
ALA	0.14 ± 0.08	0.31 ± 0.07	0.002
EPA	0.31 ± 0.11	0.62 ± 0.17	0.003
DHA	6.55 ± 1.17	9.58 ± 1.44	0.001
Omega-6 fatty acids
LA	5.22 ± 0.51	3.11 ± 1.31	0.002
AA	3.18 ± 0.20	1.76 ± 0.31	0.002
Measured omega-6/omega-3 ratio	1.20 ± 0.52	0.46 ± 0.06	0.002
AA/DHA ratio	0.48 ± 0.06	0.18 ± 0.02	0.001
LA/ALA ratio	37.2 ± 4.7	10.0 ± 2.3	0.001
AA/EPA ratio	10.3 ± 1.8	2.8 ± 1.8	0.001
Omega-3 index	6.85 ± 1.21	10.0 ± 1.52	0.002
Seminal plasma antioxidant status
Catalase-like activity (U/ml)	304 ± 15	375 ± 46	0.003
SOD-like activity (U/ml)	36.7 ± 1.4	47.0 ± 2.6	0.003

ALA = α-linolenic acid, EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA = docosahexaenoic acid, LA = linoleic acid, AA = arachidonic acid, SOD = superoxide dismutase.

^a Values are expressed as percentage (mean% ± SD) of total fatty acids.

The ratio of serum omega-6/omega-3 FAs was significantly higher in infertile (14.8 ± 4.3) patients compared to fertile controls (6.3 ± 2.2) (P = 0.001). Additionally, levels of AA were higher and the omega-3 index was lower in infertile subjects than in fertile controls (all Pvalues <>P = 0.001).

References

1/ Clinical Nutrition, Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2009.07.008. Relationship of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids with semen characteristics, and anti-oxidant status of seminal plasma: A comparison between fertile and infertile men. M.R. Safarinejad, S.Y. Hosseini, F. Dadkhah, M.A. Asgari