JBRA Assisted Reproduction 2025;29(Suppl.2 SBRA 2025):99
Poster Presentation
29th Annual Congress of the SBRA. São Paulo/SP - Brazil, 2025
doi: 10.5935/1518-0557.20263686
P-87. Evaluation of the Effects of Different Dietary Sugars on Sperm Parameters in Mice
Vera Lucia Langaro Amaral1, Paola Stefany Corre Vaz Correia1, Alfred Paul Senn2, Rafael Alonso Salvador1, Eduarda Rocha Bauer1, Cleiton Alves Oliveira1
1 Universidade do Vale do Itajaí-UNIVALI - Itajaí - SC – Brasil
2 University of Geneva – Switzerland
Objective: This study aimed to assess sperm motility, vitality, morphology, and DNA fragmentation, as well as the absolute and relative testicular weights of male mice subjected to diets containing different sugars.
Methods: Sixty male C57BL/6 mice (6 weeks old, weighing 18–25 g) were divided into four experimental groups: control (no added sugar), glucose 20%, fructose 20%, and sucrose 20%. The experiment lasted 12 weeks, with sample collections at weeks 4, 10, and 12. At each time point, the testes were removed and weighed, and sperm were collected from the cauda epididymis and incubated in HTF-HEPES for 15 minutes at 37 °C. Sperm parameters were analyzed under light microscopy (400×), and DNA fragmentation was assessed using the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test.
Results: Throughout the treatment period, all groups—including the control—showed a progressive reduction in motility and vitality. At week 4, the glucose group presented higher motility (68.7%) compared to the fructose (63.1%) and sucrose (62.1%) groups. By week 10, only the control and fructose groups showed no significant difference between them. Regarding morphology, no significant differences were found between the sugar-treated groups and the control, although a time-dependent decrease was observed in the glucose and fructose groups. No sperm DNA fragmentation was detected in any group during the experimental period. Similarly, no significant differences were found in absolute or relative testicular weights among groups.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that prolonged sugar intake may induce changes in sperm quality, reinforcing the need for further studies to confirm these observations and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.