Probiotic administration improves sperm quality in asthenozoospermic human donors

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse the effect of the ingestion of two selected antioxidant probiotics strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus CECT8361 and Bifidobacterium longum CECT7347) on sperm quality parameters in asthenozoospermic males after three and six weeks of administration. Nine asthenozoospermic men without any medical treatment under similar diet conditions participated in the study. The quality of individual sperm samples was evaluated before (previous to ingestion), during (after 3 and 6 weeks of ingestion) and after probiotic administration (3 and 6 weeks after finishing the treatment). Sperm motility was evaluated by computer-assisted sperm analysis system, DNA fragmentation by sperm chromatin structure assay, cell viability by flow cytometry and measurement of intracellular HO (reactive oxygen species; ROS) by flow cytometry using dichloro-dihydrofluorescein diacetate. Sperm motility was drastically improved after the treatment (approximately 6 fold change), DNA fragmentation was statistically reduced after probiotic administration from (approximately 1.2 fold change) and intracellular HO level was decreased (approximately 3.5 fold change). Cell viability was not affected by the treatment. The significant improvement in sperm motility and the decrease in DNA fragmentation reported in this study provide preliminary evidence that probiotics could be administrated to improve motility and decrease DNA fragmentation and ROS levels in asthenozoospermic human males.

New Opportunities for Endometrial Health by Modifying Uterine Microbial Composition: Present or Future?

“…The first probiotics were composed predominantly of members of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, but they showed a lack of precision when targeting a specific biological function [136]. In the male reproductive field, the use of probiotics and synbiotics (formulations including probiotics and prebiotics) was related to improved semen quality [137,138], and in females the protective role of probiotics in relation to vaginal infections was observed [70,139]. A recent study aimed to select potential probiotic strains from vaginal samples to improve the health of the female reproductive tract, and selected the Lactobacillus rhamnosus BPL005 strain for its capacity to reduce pH and produce short chain fatty acids, protective effects against pathogen colonisation and lactate production [140].…”

Microbiota and Human Reproduction: The Case of Male Infertility

“…Plummer et al have demonstrated that antimicrobial drugs in the male partners of women with bacterial vaginosis were able to exert beneficial effects reducing disease recurrence [42]. In addition, prebiotics supplementation has shown the ability to ameliorate some semen parameters in both animal models and humans [59][60][61][62]. Dardmeh et al found that Lactobacillus rhamnosus PB01 (DSM 14870) supplementation was able to improve sperm kinematic parameters in mice [59].…”

“…Inatomi et al showed that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens TOA5001 ameliorated the semen quality of male broiler breeders [60]. In humans, Valcarce et al assessed that a 6-week supplementation with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium improved sperm motility and reduced the percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation in asthenozoospermic males [61]. Maretti et al verified that the daily administration of Lactobacillus paracasei, arabinogalactan, fructo-oligosaccharides, and l-glutamine over a period of 6 months ameliorated sperm count and motility, and reduced the rate of atypical forms, in comparison to the placebo-receiving group [62].…”

İdiyopatik erkek infertilitesinde probiyotiklerin yeri

“…[14] Sperm kalitesi ile belirli tür mikroorganizmaların ilişkili olup olmadığını belirlemek için yapılan analizler sperm kalitesi ve Anaerococcus cinsi mikroorganizmanın varlığı arasında negatif bir korelasyon olduğunu göstermiştir (p=0,0012). [23] Anaerococcus cinsinin üyeleri, insan vajinasında ve çeşitli pürülan salgılarda katı bir şekilde anaerobik ve yaygın olarak bulunan Gram-pozitif hareketsiz koklardır. [24,25] Başka bir çalışmada Anaerococcus prevoti veya Anaerococcus vaginalis'in infertilite hastalarının semen örneklerinde pozitif saptanma oranının, kontrol grubundakilere göre daha fazla olduğu gösterilmiştir.…”

“…Tedavi sonrasında sperm motilitesinin tedavi öncesine göre 6 kat, DNA fragmantasyonunun 1,2 kat düzeldiği ve hücre içi H2O2 seviyelerinin 3,5 kat azaldığı belirtilerek antioksidan etkinliğe vurgu yapılmıştır. [23] Maretti ve Cavallini ise yaptıkları bir çalışmada idiyopatik oligoasthenoteratospermi tanısı konmuş hastalarda Lactobacillus paracasei B21060 ve prebiyotik kombinasyonunun etkinliğini araştırmışlardır. Çalışma sonunda probiyotik kombinasyonunun idiyopatik oligoasthenoteratospermi tanılı erkeklerde ejakulat hacmini, sperm konsantrasyonunu, motilitesini, spermatozoa sayısını ve tipik formlarının oranını arttırmada etkili olduğu gösterilmiştir.…”