Antioxidative potential of Quercetin against hydrogen peroxide induced oxidative stress in spermatozoa in vitro

Summary This study was carried out to test the antioxidant effects of Quercetin on sperm parameters and antioxidant enzymes in male rats assessed in vitro after H202-mediated sperm oxidative damage. Spermatozoa were incubated with Quercetin (10, 100 and 200 μm), H2O2 alone (100 μm) and Quercetin (100, 200 μm) + H2O2 (100 μm) repectively, for 3 h at 32 °C. After that, sperm parameters (motility, viability and abnormal morphology), malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase levels were determined. We found that exposure to H2O2 let to significant increase in lipid peroxidation (LP) and abnormal morphology associated with significant decrease in sperm motility, viability and antioxidant enzymes activities. When Quercetin was added in culture medium, it improved activities of antioxidant enzymes and protected spermatozoa against the deleterious effect of H2O2 on sperm parameters and LP. This study demonstrated that supplementation with Quercetin could protect spermatozoa against H2O2-mediated sperm damage.