Vakili Sina, Samare-Najaf Mohammad, Karimi Aliasghar, Jahromi Bahia Namavar, Mohit Mohsen, Hashempur Mohammad Hashem
Infertility Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2025 May;398(5):4817-4835. doi: 10.1007/s00210-024-03520-x. Epub 2024 Dec 10.
Male infertility is a major concern around the world, and efforts to find effective therapies to improve reproductive results are continuing. Factors such as genetics, hormonal disorders, lifestyle, and environmental pollutants have been mentioned as the pathoetiology of male infertility. The treatment of male infertility is far from optimal despite the recent signs of progress provided by assisted reproductive technology. Therefore, many efforts are being made to improve the therapeutical approaches to male infertility, which generally target the factors involved in the pathophysiology of the disease. Lycopene is a naturally occurring pigment belonging to the carotenoid family, which imparts a vibrant red color to various fruits and vegetables. It is widely assumed that lycopene may be an optimal option for the improvement of male fertility, however, the verification its therapeutic potential in male infertility has not been comprehensively reviewed. The study discusses the ability of lycopene to improve semen parameters, including sperm morphology, and motility which are important determinants of male reproductive health. Moreover, lycopene's capacity to regulate sex hormones, such as testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which play crucial roles in sperm production and maturation is explained. Additionally, lycopene effects on specific signaling pathways involved in male fertility, including prokineticin-2 (PROK2) and PI3K/Akt pathways, that influence sperm function are clarified. Furthermore, the impacts of lycopene as a potent antioxidant in defending against oxidative stress, a leading cause of male infertility, are presented. Overall, the results indicate that lycopene may have beneficial effects on improving male fertility by increasing sperm parameters, modulating sex hormones and signaling pathways, and providing antioxidant protection. Due to limited reports, additional clinical data is required to confirm the positive effects of lycopene on male fertility in humans.
男性不育是全球关注的一个主要问题，人们一直在努力寻找有效的治疗方法来改善生殖结果。遗传、激素紊乱、生活方式和环境污染物等因素被认为是男性不育的病因。尽管辅助生殖技术最近有了一些进展迹象，但男性不育的治疗仍远未达到最佳状态。因此，人们正在做出许多努力来改进男性不育的治疗方法，这些方法通常针对该疾病病理生理学中涉及的因素。番茄红素是一种天然存在的色素，属于类胡萝卜素家族，它赋予各种水果和蔬菜鲜艳的红色。人们普遍认为番茄红素可能是改善男性生育能力的最佳选择，然而，其在男性不育治疗潜力方面的验证尚未得到全面综述。该研究讨论了番茄红素改善精液参数的能力，包括精子形态和活力，这些是男性生殖健康的重要决定因素。此外，还解释了番茄红素调节性激素的能力，如睾酮、黄体生成素（LH）和卵泡刺激素（FSH），这些激素在精子产生和成熟过程中起着关键作用。此外，还阐明了番茄红素对男性生育能力所涉及的特定信号通路的影响，包括促动力蛋白-2（PROK2）和PI3K/Akt通路，这些通路会影响精子功能。此外，还介绍了番茄红素作为一种强大的抗氧化剂在抵御氧化应激方面的作用，氧化应激是男性不育的主要原因。总体而言，结果表明番茄红素可能通过增加精子参数、调节性激素和信号通路以及提供抗氧化保护对改善男性生育能力产生有益影响。由于报告有限，需要更多的临床数据来证实番茄红素对人类男性生育能力的积极影响。
