Effect of lipid peroxidation on beating frequency of human sperm tail.

The tail beat frequency (TBF) of sperm was measured with a sperm-head fixation method which was based on the tendency of sperm to attach its head to the surface of a glass slide. Ferrous sulphate, a promotor of lipid peroxidation, inhibited TBF within 5 min of mixing with sperm. This inhibition can be reversed dose-dependently by superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and albumin. It was concluded that TBF could be a new pharmacological model for studying the effect of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant on sperm motility. Both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants can be screened with this method.