effects of ascorbic acid on sperm motility, viability, acrosome reaction and dna integrity in teratozoospermic samples

background: oxidative stress in teratozoospermic semen samples caused poor assisted reproductive techniques (art) outcomes. among antioxidants, ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring free radical scavenger and as such its presence assists various other mechanisms in decreasing numerous disruptive free radical processes. objective: the main goal of this study was to evaluate potential protective effects of ascorbic acid supplementation during in vitro culture of teratozoospermic specimens. materials and methods: teratozoospermic semen samples that collected from 15 volunteers were processed, centrifuged and incubated at 37popc until sperm swimmed-up. supernatant was divided into four groups and incubated at 37popc for one hour under different experimental conditions: control, 10 μm a23187, 600μm ascorbic acid and 10 μm a23187+600 μm ascorbic acid. after incubation sperm motility, viability, acrosome reaction, dna damage and malondialdehyde levels were evaluated. results: our results indicated that after one hour incubation, ascorbic acid significantly reduced malondialdehyde level in ascorbic acid group (1.4±0.11 nmol/ml) compared to control group (1.58±0.13 nmol/ml) (p<0.001). at the end of incubation, progressive motility and viability in ascorbic acid group (64.5±8.8% and 80.3±6.4%, respectively) were significantly (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively) higher than the control group (54.5±6.8% and 70.9±7.3%, respectively). a23187 significantly (p<0.0001) increased acrosome reaction in a23187 group (37.3±5.6%) compared to control group (8.5±3.2%) and this effect of a23187 attenuated by ascorbic acid in ascorbic acid+a23187 group (17.2±4.4%). dna fragmentation in ascorbic acid group (20±4.1%) was significantly (p<0.001) lower than controls (28.9±4.6%). conclusion: in vitro ascorbic acid supplementation during teratozoospermic semen processing for art could protect teratozoospermic specimens against oxidative stress, and it could improve art outcome.