The antioxidant role of xylitol on the cellular parameters of human sperm during the sperm cryopreservation

Sperm cryopreservation is a suitable method for the survival of reproduction in men with cancer as well as people with sperm deficiency such as azoospermia and oligospermia. The cryopreservation damage leads to a decrease in the survival rate of sperm and fertility handicap. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the polyalcohol xylitol as an antioxidant during sperm cryopreservation and, finally, to reduce the level of free radicals. In this study, 60 normal human sperm samples were collected from 60 people referred to the Infertility Research Center of Royan Research Institute and divided into three groups, including a fresh control group, a frozen control group (samples that were frozen with sperm freezing medium alone) and frozen treatment group (They were frozen with freezing medium supplemented with a concentration of 55 mM xylitol). Sperm motility, viability, and membrane swelling were evaluated based on WHO criteria and the level of free radicals in the mentioned samples. The results of this study showed that adding xylitol to the freezing medium improved the sperm parameters and also increased the survival rate of the cells. The level of free radicals decreased significantly in the presence of xylitol. From this study, it can be concluded that adding xylitol as an antioxidant compound to the freezing medium during sperm cryopreservation is a suitable strategy to reduce the free radicals level in the freezing medium.