Effects of caffeine supplementation in post-thaw human semen over different incubation periods

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of caffeine supplementation in post-cryopreservation human semen over different incubation periods. After collection by masturbation, 17 semen samples were analysed according to World Health Organization criteria, processed and cryopreserved with TEST-yolk buffer (1 : 1) in liquid nitrogen. After a thawing protocol, samples were incubated with 2 mm of caffeine for 0, 5, 15, 30 or 60 min, followed by analysis of motility and mitochondrial activity using 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB). Mean variance analysis was performed, and P < 0.05 was the adopted significance threshold. Samples incubated for 15 min showed increased progressive motility compared to other periods of incubation, as well as a reduced percentage of immotile spermatozoa (P < 0.05). In samples incubated for 5 min, increased mitochondrial activity above 50% was observed (DABI and DABII). Although cryosurvival rates were low after the cryopreservation process, incubation with caffeine was associated with an increase in sperm motility, particularly 15-min incubation, suggesting that incubation with caffeine can be an important tool in patients with worsening seminal quality undergoing infertility treatment.

The efficacy of antioxidants in sperm parameters and production of reactive oxygen species levels during the freeze‐thaw process: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Finally, 54 articles were selected for assessment. During full‐text screening, no common antioxidants were identified in nineteen articles (Asadmobini, Bakhtiari, Khaleghi, Esmaeili, & Mostafaei, ; Brugnon et al, ; Fontoura et al, ; Isachenko et al, ; Kotdawala et al, ; Lu et al, ; Meamar et al, ; Naeini, Bafrani, & Nikzad, ; Najafi et al, ; Oehninger, Duru, Srisombut, & Morshedi, ; Parameswari et al, ; Pariz & Hallak, ; Saeednia et al, ; Sbracia, Grasso, Sayme, Stronk, & Huszar, ; Sobhani, Eftekhaari, Shahrzad, Natami, & Fallahi, ; Taylor, Roberts, Sanders, & Burton, ; Vickram et al, ; Werner et al, ), twelve articles lacked common sperm parameters (Banihani, Agarwal, Sharma, & Bayachou, ; Branco, Garcez, Pasqualotto, Erdtman, & Salvador, ; Donnelly, McClure, & Lewis, ; Esteves, Spaine, & Cedenho, ; Gadea et al, ; Garcez et al, ; Garcez, Branco, Lara, Pasqualotto, & Salvador, ; Jenkins, Aston, & Carrell, ; Li, Lin, Liu, Xiao, & Liu, ; Minaei et al, ; Nabi et al, ; Shabani Nashtaei et al, ) and one article lacked sufficient data (Karimfar et al, ). Finally, 23 articles (Aliabadi, Jahanshahi, Talaei‐Khozani, & Banaei, ; Askari, Check, Peymer, & Bollendorf, ; Azadi, Tavalaee, Deemeh, Arbabian, & Nasr‐Esfahani, ; Bateni et al, ; Deng et al, ; Duru, Morshedi, Schuffner, & Oehninger, ; Esteves, Sharma, Thomas, & Agarwal, ; Ghorbani et al, ; Kalthur et al, ; Keshtgar, Iravanpour, Gharesi‐Fard, & Kazerooni, ; Martinez‐Soto, Dioshourcade, Gutiérrez‐Adán, Landeras, & Gadea, ; Merino et al, ; Moubasher, Din, Ali, El‐sherif, & Gaber, ; Najafi et al, ; Nekoonam, Nashtaei, Naji, Zangi, & Amidi, ; Rossi, Mazzilli, Delfino, & Dondero, ; Taylor et al, ; Thomson et al, ; Varghese et al, …”

Long-term sperm cryopreservation does not affect post-thaw survival rates

“…Supplementation of culture medium for freezing with proteins, antioxidants and stimulants to avoid damage to spermatozoa has been widely studied, but the toxicity of these substances, both for the sperm or for the oocyte, remains unclear. The addition of caffeine 2mM (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine; Sigma-Aldrich, USA) in postthaw samples described by Pariz & Hallak (2016) was associated with increased mitochondrial activity and 38% increase in progressive motility, suggesting that caffeine may be an important tool applied to seminal samples post-thawing. Moreover, the caffeine (2mM) -melatonin (2mM) association seems to preserve mitochondrial activity (Pariz et al, 2019).…”

Melatonin and Caffeine Supplementation Used, Respectively, as Protective and Stimulating Agents in the Cryopreservation of Human Sperm Improves Survival, Viability, and Motility after Thawing compared to Traditional TEST-Yolk Buffer

“…For MEL, it corresponds to the circulating human concentration. For CAF, we worked out the optimal concentration to be used in an earlier study [47] which roughly corresponds to a typical circulating concentration after the ingestion of one cup of coffee. Therefore, five groups were generated (see Figure 1): prefrozen samples; postthaw control samples without supplementation (CONT); postthaw samples with either melatonin (MEL), added before cryopreservation, or caffeine (CAF), used after thawing; or both additives: melatonin+caffeine (MC).…”

“…For example, glutamine, catalase, and ascorbic acid had a protective action and preserved sperm motility when added to cryopreservation media while pentoxifylline supplementation after thawing improved sperm mobility and decreased ROS production [40–43]. Taking advantage of the well-described pleiotropic antioxidant (AO) action of melatonin [44–46] and the well-known stimulating effect of caffeine on sperm motility [47–53], we have decided to evaluate the benefit of complementing our cryopreservation medium with melatonin or our postthaw medium with caffeine or a combination of the two. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of melatonin and caffeine supplementation on the functional characteristics of prefreeze and postthaw human spermatozoa.…”