Thirty heavy smoking men randomly divided into one of
two subgroups (each contained 15 men). Each participant from the first
subgroup of smokers took 1000-mg AA tablets daily for 4 weeks. For the
same period, the second subgroup took placebo tablets, serving as a
negative control. Another fifteen of the non-smokers participated also as a
separate group and took 1000-mg tablets of AA/day, serving as a positive
control. Semen analyses of all were normal. Acrosin activity of sperms by
gelatin substrate film technique was surveyed. Serum and seminal plasma
ascorbic acid levels were measured and expressed as mg/dL. Statistically
significant increases in the acrosin activity and ascorbic acid levels in the
treated subgroup were observed weekly. After the 4 weeks of
supplementation, no significant difference was detected between the
treated subgroup and nonsmokers. However, no significant weekly
changes were observed in the nonsmokers or the placebo subgroup. The
increases in AA levels and acrosin activity in the treated smokers indicate
that increased ascorbic acid bioavailability was associated with the
Tanta Medical Journal
1098
pronounced improvement in sperm acrosin activity. This useful effect of
AA supplementation on acrosin activity may be due to its reductive
properties nullifying the possible injurious effects of the reactive oxidants
of nicotine or nicotine metabolites. |
