Oxidative stress (OS) has been known as one of the most important cause of male infertility. The study was aimed to investigate seminal MDA, nitric oxide, TAC and zinc in infertile men and study their relationship with semen parameters. The study comprises total 80 subjects including fertile men (n=30) and infertile men (n=50). Seminal plasma malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, zinc and TAC were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods and correlated with semen parameters. Seminal levels of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide were significantly higher (p<0.001) while zinc and TAC were significantly lower (p<0.001) in infertile men than fertile men. Elevated seminal plasma MDA, nitric oxide and low TAC and zinc may have significant role in the etiology of sperm abnormality. Negative correlation of sperm parameters with MDA and nitric oxide and positive correlation with TAC and zinc indicates that oxidative stress adversely affects spermatogenesis in male infertility. Evaluation of MDA, nitric oxide, TAC and zinc can be used for diagnosis, prognosis of male infertility. Therapeutic usage of the antioxidants in treatment of male infertility should be studied extensively. A series of clinical trials are needed to investigate the prospect.
