Effect of Antioxidant activity of Astaxanthin in improving Human Spermatozoa lipid Peroxidation

Abstract

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the final product of lipid peroxidation which reacts with Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) to produce red color and can be observed by spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 532 nm. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that can reduce MDA by counteracting free radicals in lipid peroxidation in human spermatozoa. The objective of this study was to identify the antioxidant activity of astaxanthin in improving human spermatozoa lipid peroxidation, with parameters of color, odor, pH, volume, viscosity, concentration, morphology, motility and MDA levels. In this study, astaxanthin was given to 19 patients orally in a single dose of 8 mg per day for 30 days. As a negative control, six people were given with CMC Na placebo. MDA level measurement was performed using a spectrophotometer and the quality of spermatozoa was measured using WHO 2010 parameters. Significant difference in MDA level was found before and after astxanthin administration with a p-value of 0.022 (p<0.05) and significant difference in sperm motility was also found with a p-value 0.000 (p<0.01), spermatozoa morphology with p 0.021 (p<0.05), and concentration with p 0.001 (p<0.05). There was no significant difference before and after astaxanthin administration in sperm viscosity with p 0.414 (p>0.05), volume with p 0.965 (p>0.05) and pH with p 0.401 (p>0.05). In conclusion, astaxanthin can reduce lipid peroxidation, improve morphology, increase concentration and motility of human spermatozoa.