Food Research Center (FoRC), Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Food Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-862, Brazil.
Nutrients. 2022 May 21;14(10):2150. doi: 10.3390/nu14102150.
Infertility is a growing public health problem. Consumption of antioxidant bioactive food compounds (BFCs) that include micronutrients and non-nutrients has been highlighted as a potential strategy to protect against oxidative and inflammatory damage in the male reproductive system induced by obesity, alcohol, and toxicants and, thus, improve spermatogenesis and the fertility parameters. Paternal consumption of such dietary compounds could not only benefit the fathers but their offspring as well. Studies in the new field of paternal origins of health and disease show that paternal malnutrition can alter sperm epigenome, and this can alter fetal development and program an increased risk of metabolic diseases and breast cancer in adulthood. BFCs, such as ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, trace elements, carnitines, N-acetylcysteine, and coenzyme Q10, have been shown to improve male gametogenesis, modulate epigenetics of germ cells, and the epigenetic signature of the offspring, restoring offspring metabolic health induced by stressors during early life. This indicates that, from a father's perspective, preconception is a valuable window of opportunity to start potential nutritional interventions with these BFCs to maximize sperm epigenetic integrity and promote adequate fetal growth and development, thus preventing chronic disease in adulthood.
不孕是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题。抗氧化生物活性食物化合物（BFCs）的消耗，包括微量营养素和非营养素，已被强调为一种潜在的策略，可以防止肥胖、酒精和毒物对男性生殖系统的氧化和炎症损伤，从而改善精子发生和生育参数。父亲消耗这些饮食化合物不仅可以使父亲受益，也可以使他们的后代受益。健康与疾病的父亲起源这一新领域的研究表明，父亲营养不良会改变精子表观基因组，这会改变胎儿发育，并增加成年后患代谢疾病和乳腺癌的风险。BFC 如抗坏血酸、α-生育酚、多不饱和脂肪酸、微量元素、肉碱、N-乙酰半胱氨酸和辅酶 Q10，已被证明可以改善男性配子发生，调节生殖细胞的表观遗传学，以及后代的表观遗传特征，恢复早期生活中应激引起的后代代谢健康。这表明，从父亲的角度来看，受孕前是一个宝贵的机会窗口，可以开始用这些 BFC 进行潜在的营养干预，以最大限度地提高精子表观遗传完整性，并促进胎儿的充分生长和发育，从而预防成年期的慢性疾病。
