Lycopene Good for Sperm and Eggs
By: Amy Erickson Hagen, MS, Cryogenic Laboratories, Inc.
Ever wonder where nature's red comes from? In the case of tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava, it can be attributed to an antioxidant called lycopene. A member of the carotenoid family (same family as Vitamin A but with no Vitamin A activity), lycopene infuses fruits with color and offers several healthful properties most notably for its association with decreased cancer risk. Research now indicates that lycopene supplements and lycopene-rich foods such as tomatoes, carrots, pink grape fruit, tomato sauce, and water melon can have a positive impact on both sperm and eggs.
Because lycopene is thought to be an anti-oxidant, a team of investigators at Montreal’s McGill University examined the antioxidant properties of lycopene on sperm. Oxidative stress can harm sperm, so it was thought washing the sperm with lycopene might protect them. Freshly prepared sperm solutions from proven fertile sperm donors were pre-incubated in solutions with or without lycopene. Sperm were then exposed to hydrogen peroxide , which causes oxidative damage to sperm DNA. The sperm samples that had been pre-treated with the lycopene showed less DNA damage than the samples that had not been treated. The researchers concluded that lycopene can protect sperm DNA from the effects of oxidative stress.
The McGill researchers also reported that oxidative damage is linked to male infertility, as is a low semen lycopene level. A 1996 study appearing in the Archives of Andrology revealed a connection between dietary antioxidants and male fertility and showed reduced seminal lycopene levels in infertile subjects. The good news is that lycopene supplementation may improve seminal lycopene levels, thereby potentially improve semen quality. A study reported in 2002 at the International Urology and Nephrology meetings indicated that after 3 months of lycopene supplementation, participants exhibited significant improvements in sperm concentration, motility and morphology.
For females it is thought that reactive oxygen species, which cause oxidative damage, can play an important role in the development of adhesions. Scientists from Wayne State University treated adhesive tissues with lycopene to see if the expression of proteins associated with adhesions could be reduced . They found that, in fact, treating the tissue with lycopene significantly reduced the levels of those proteins. Further investigation will be needed to whether lycopene treatment has a clinical impact on adhesion reduction.
Although further research is needed to determine the true impact of lycopene on sperm and eggs, the growing body of evidence showing lycopene's benefits support making lycopene-rich foods a part of your diet.
Ever wonder where nature's red comes from? In the case of tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava, it can be attributed to an antioxidant called lycopene. A member of the carotenoid family (same family as Vitamin A but with no Vitamin A activity), lycopene infuses fruits with color and offers several healthful properties most notably for its association with decreased cancer risk. Research now indicates that lycopene supplements and lycopene-rich foods such as tomatoes, carrots, pink grape fruit, tomato sauce, and water melon can have a positive impact on both sperm and eggs.
Because lycopene is thought to be an anti-oxidant, a team of investigators at Montreal’s McGill University examined the antioxidant properties of lycopene on sperm. Oxidative stress can harm sperm, so it was thought washing the sperm with lycopene might protect them. Freshly prepared sperm solutions from proven fertile sperm donors were pre-incubated in solutions with or without lycopene. Sperm were then exposed to hydrogen peroxide , which causes oxidative damage to sperm DNA. The sperm samples that had been pre-treated with the lycopene showed less DNA damage than the samples that had not been treated. The researchers concluded that lycopene can protect sperm DNA from the effects of oxidative stress.
The McGill researchers also reported that oxidative damage is linked to male infertility, as is a low semen lycopene level. A 1996 study appearing in the Archives of Andrology revealed a connection between dietary antioxidants and male fertility and showed reduced seminal lycopene levels in infertile subjects. The good news is that lycopene supplementation may improve seminal lycopene levels, thereby potentially improve semen quality. A study reported in 2002 at the International Urology and Nephrology meetings indicated that after 3 months of lycopene supplementation, participants exhibited significant improvements in sperm concentration, motility and morphology.
For females it is thought that reactive oxygen species, which cause oxidative damage, can play an important role in the development of adhesions. Scientists from Wayne State University treated adhesive tissues with lycopene to see if the expression of proteins associated with adhesions could be reduced . They found that, in fact, treating the tissue with lycopene significantly reduced the levels of those proteins. Further investigation will be needed to whether lycopene treatment has a clinical impact on adhesion reduction.
Although further research is needed to determine the true impact of lycopene on sperm and eggs, the growing body of evidence showing lycopene's benefits support making lycopene-rich foods a part of your diet.
posted by Kathleen, Contributing Editor at
1:00 PM
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