About the benefits of lycopene

The substance contained in tomatoes improves the quality of sperm

Polina Gershberg, Naked Science

The discovery of scientists from the University of Sheffield can compensate for the harmful effects of stress and an unhealthy environment on male reproductive health. An article about this was published in the European Journal of Nutrition (Williams et al., A randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effect of lactolycopene on semen quality in healthy males).

A group of scientists led by Professor of andrology Allan Pacey and nutrition specialist Liz Williams assessed how the addition of lycopene to the diet affects the reproductive function of men. Their experiments showed that regular consumption of a dietary supplement called "LactoLycopene" (LactoLycopene) increased the number of so-called fast sperm cells with relatively high mobility in the ejaculate by about 40 percent, as well as germ cells of normal morphology.

The study involved 60 healthy volunteers aged 19 to 30 years. Half of them took supplements with "Lactolycopine", and the other half took identical placebos daily for 12 weeks. The main component of the investigated dietary supplement is lycopene. This is a pigment from the group of carotenoids, which causes the red color of some fruits: for example, tomatoes, pumpkins and guavas. It is an isomer of beta-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A). Lycopene protects plants from oxidative stress and solar radiation, and also serves as a precursor for other carotenoid pigments.

During the experiment, the subjects from both groups did not know what exactly they were taking – a "dummy" or a drug with lycopene. At the beginning and at the end of the study, blood and semen samples were taken from the volunteers for comparison. "We did not expect that at the end of the study there would be any difference in the sperm of men who took pills and those who took placebo. But when we evaluated the results, I almost fell off my chair," Allan Pacey emotionally comments on the results of the work. "The improvement in morphology–the size and shape of the sperm–was impressive."

The work did not study the mechanism of action of lycopene on germ cells. But since this substance is a well–known antioxidant, Pacey suggests that lycopene compensates for the effect of oxidative stress. This is a condition in which there are too many free radicals in the body and insufficient antioxidant activity to neutralize them. Oxidative stress is one of the confirmed causes of fertility problems in men.

"We were surprised by the change in sperm quality," adds Liz Williams, "This was the first properly planned and controlled study of the effect of Lactolycopine on sperm quality, and it prompted us to want to study this molecule even more."

Now scientists intend to repeat their study on a larger sample of subjects, as well as to test the effect of the Lactolycopine supplement on sperm quality in men with reproductive problems.

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