P-79: The Correlation between Nitric Oxide Levels in Seminal Plasma with Human Sperm Parameters

Background: Defective sperm quality is a significant cause of infertility in men. It is known that nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive free radical gas which has a dual function, being both a cytotoxic and necessary molecule for normal sperm production. Materials and Methods: To investigate correlation between NO levels with sperm parameters, a case-control study were designed with total of 65 semen samples including, 33 healthy donors as the control group and 32 infertile patients as the case group. After routine semen analysis according to World Health Organization (WHO, 1999) guidelines, the stable metabolites of nitric oxide (nitrite and nitrate) was measured in the seminal plasma of both fertile and infertile men by Griess reagent and compared with sperm parameters. Results: The mean NO levels in the seminal plasma of infertile men was significantly higher than that in healthy men (p= 0.026) and a negative correlation observed between NO levels and volume of semen (p= 0.005), sperm total count (p= 0.013) and morphology (p= 0.041). Conclusion: It is suggested that high levels of nitric oxide in seminal plasma may be a risk factor for increased oxidative stress and associate with poor sperm quality in infertile men.