The Relationship between Seminal Melatonin with Sperm Parameters, DNA Fragmentation and Nuclear Maturity in Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection Candidates

Objective: melatonin, the chief secretory product of the pineal gland, regulates dynamicphysiological adaptations that occur in seasonally breeding mammals as a response tochanges in daylight hours. because of the presence of melatonin in semen and the membranemelatonin receptor in spermatozoa, the impact of melatonin on the regulation ofmale infertility is still questionable. the aim of this study was to determine the effects ofendogenous melatonin on human semen parameters (sperm concentration, motility andnormal morphology), dna fragmentation (df) and nuclear maturity.materials and methods: in this clinical prospective study, semen samples from 75 infertilemen were routinely analyzed and assessed for melatonin and total antioxidant capacity(tac) levels using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) and colorimetricassay kits, respectively. df was examined by the sperm chromatin dispersion (scd) test.acidic aniline blue staining was used to detect chromatin defects in the sperm nuclei.results: there was no significant correlation between seminal plasma melatonin andtac with sperm parameters and nuclear maturity. however, we observed a positivesignificant correlation between df and melatonin level (r=0.273, p < 0.05).conclusion: melatonin in seminal plasma is positively correlated with damaged spermdna of infertile patients. the mechanism of this phenomenon needs further study.