Seminal plasma metabolome in relation to semen quality and urinary phthalate metabolites among Chinese adult men

Abstract Background A growing body of evidence has found links between endocrine disruptor phthalates and male reproductive disorders, but the mechanisms underlying these relationships are poorly known. Seminal plasma metabolomes may mediate associations of phthalate exposure with impaired semen quality. Objective To identify seminal plasma metabolomes associated with poor semen quality and evaluate their associations with urinary phthalate metabolites among 660 Chinese adult men. Method The seminal plasma metabolic profiles were acquired using an untargeted approach based on liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. We explored the differences in seminal plasma metabolites between participants with poor and good semen quality and evaluated cross-sectional associations between discriminatory metabolic biomarkers and urinary phthalate metabolites. Results Differences between poor and good semen quality groups were observed in relation to 25 seminal plasma metabolites, mostly related to the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and acylcarnitine (all p p p Conclusions Elevated urinary phthalate metabolites may impact semen quality by causing metabolic disorders of seminal plasma PUFAs and acylcarnitine. These pathways warrant further investigation.