Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Relation to Sperm Motility

Abstract

IntroductionRecent studies performed in our laboratory (Nissen et al. -1981) showed that the percentage composition of phospholipid-bound docosahexaenoic acid of human semen was distinctly lower in azoospermia and oligozoospermia than in astheno-or teratozoospermia. The fatty acid composition is important to provide the correct membrane fluidity and permeability (Chapman and Wallach -1968;Veerkamp et al. -1962). Therefore we continued our studies on a different and larger population and expanded it to include the absolute amounts of phospholipid-bound fatty acids from different andrological conditions. Materials and MethodsSemen: For the use of pooled samples has been arbitrary, we analysed the absolute fatty acid content in single ejaculates. Our studies were performed on the ejaculates from 100 donors. The semen specimens were obtained by masturbation after four to seven days of sexual continence from men aged 20-35 years.After liquefaction of the samples the sperm count and the percentage motility were determined by microscopic analysis. Chemicals: Silica gel 60 was purchased from E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany.Applied Science Europe B.V. Oud-Beyerland, Holland. Boron trichloride-methanol reagent, malonaldehyde and thiobarbituric acid were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co, Munich. The glass capillary column was obtained from Machery and Nagel, Diiren, Germany. Lipid analysis: The lipids were extracted with chloroform-methanol (2:l v/v) (Folch et al.-1957). The extracted lipids were separated into neutral lipids and phospholipids by thinlayer chromatography on silica gel 60. Diethylether was used as developing solvent. The zones were scraped from the plate and eluted from silica with 1 : 1 chloroform-methanol mixture containing 5 mg/100 ml butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) as antioxidant. To prevent degradation of plasmalogens all processes were conducted at 4" C. Fatty acid methylesters of phospholipids were prepared by transmethylation with boron trichloridemetha-no1 (Morrison and Smith -1964; Brian and Gardner -1967).The degradation and artifact formation which may occur with polyunsaturated fatty acids and boron trifluoride-methanol is minimal or absent when the boron trichloride reagent is used (Klopfenstein -1971, Brian et al. -1972. The methylesters were purified by Fatty acid methylesters were products of Sigma Chemical Co, Munich, Germany or of

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