Serum ascorbic acid and male reproductive hormones
Matineh Rastegar Panah Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 47, 2022 S36
Infertility affects about 16% of Canadian couples, with the male factor contributing to 35% of cases. Reproductive hormones play an integral role in regulating the reproductive system and consequently, fertility. Oxidative stress contributes to inhibition of testosterone synthesis and reduction in oxidative stress can improve hormone profiles. An increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) coupled with a decrease in antioxidant enzymatic activity leads to an imbalance in testicular and Leydig cells' redox environments, a physiological manifestation commonly observed with aging. Antioxidants promote balanced redox environments and aid in repairing ROS induced cellular damage. Ascorbic acid,
a strong antioxidant, accounts for 65% of seminal antioxidant activity; however, its effects on reproductive hormones in humans is not known. The objective was to assess the association between serum ascorbic acid concentrations and male reproductive hormones.
We conducted a cross-sectional study involving infertile
males (n=260) recruited from Mount Sinai Hospital. Serum was
analyzed for ascorbic acid and reproductive hormones of interest
(luteinizing hormone, follicular stimulating hormone and total
testosterone). Statistical analyses included linear regressions,
logistic regressions, simple slope and Johnson-Neyman interval.
After adjusting for covariates, ascorbic acid was inversely associated with luteinizing hormone (p=0.01).
Ascorbic acid was positively associated with total testosterone (p=0.01) only among older males (>44.9 years of age). Compared to participants in the
lowest tertile of ascorbic acid, those in the highest tertile had a
lower risk of having elevated luteinizing hormone (OR: 0.39,
95% CI [0.16, 0.93], p=0.01) and lower risk of reduced testosterone
(OR: 0.38, 95% CI [0.19, 0.75], p=0.006).
Our study is the first to examine the association between ascorbic acid and male reproductive hormones in humans. These findings suggest that ascorbic
acid (vitamin C) is associated with favourable hormone profiles that impact fertility in males and some of the effects appear to be agedependent.
The results suggest that ascorbic acid contributes to
cellular antioxidant activity, improving testosterone synthesis and
androgenic status in infertile males.