Polyunsaturated fatty acids in relation to sperm motility.

The absolute amounts of phospholipid-linked fatty acids of different andrological conditions were analyzed by gas-liquid-chromatography. There was a significant linear correlation between docosahexaenoic acid and the spermatozoal density. Similarly there was a significant correlation between the content of docosahexaenoic acid and the number of motile normal sperm. These findings suggest that the process of lipid peroxidation is probably one of the biochemical causes of the low docosahexaenoic acid content in poorly motile sperm.