This is one of a series of news items from abstracts of studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine as complied by Dr. David Meldrum, Scientific Director of Reproductive Partners. We appreciate the enormous amount of work it takes to compile and comment on these abstracts.
A poster presentation showed that omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial in improving DNA fragmentation in sperm.
Forty-six men were randomized to 1050 mg of DHA or placebo. DHA is one of the two main omega-3s and is found in high concentration in sperm membranes.
DNA fragmentation by TUNEL decreased progressively over time from 26 to 9. This dose of DHA would be equivalent to 3,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil containing both DHA and EPA. It is surprising that such a favorable effect was seen without a concomitant increase in antioxidants, as these highly unsaturated fats are very sensitive to oxidation and semen of infertile males has increased reactive oxygen species.
We have recommended a dose of 500-1,000 mg per day. Doubling that dose could be considered in men with a high percentage of fragmented sperm.