Originally published July 21 2005
Male fertility may suffer from exposure to everyday chemicals
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Irishhealth.com reports that combinations of genistein, 8-prenylnaringenin and nonylphenol -- all of which are commonly found in either foods or household chemicals -- have an adverse effect on a sperm's ability to fertilize an egg, according to a study by researchers at King's College, London.
Combinations of chemicals found in everyday products and food have subtle but damaging effects on sperm fertility, new research has found.
A team at the King's College London tested combinations of three chemicals - genistein and 8-prenylnaringenin, both of which are found in hops and nonylphenol, which is found in industrial products, such as paint, pesticides and cleaning products.
They investigated the effect the chemicals had on capacitation - this is the stage when a sperm acquires the ability to fertilise an egg.
However this new research has shown that when the chemical are combined, they have an even stronger effect.
Furthermore Professor Fraser found that when she tested one chemical - genistein (found in soya and legumes) - on human sperm, these were much more sensitive to the chemical than mouse sperm.
These compounds are classified as environmental oestrogens, but they are very weak.
Normally you would expect them to have to be in concentrations around 1,000 times stronger to get a response similar to that prompted by the naturally occurring oestrogen, oestradiol.
This is when the cap on the head of the sperm ruptures and releases enzymes that enable the sperm to penetrate the covering of the egg.
However if this acrosome reaction happens before a sperm reaches the egg, then fertilisation is unable to take place because the sperm has lost special 'docking' molecules that allow it to bind to the egg.
She believes that the research findings contain important warning signs 'at a time when there are concerns that incidence of infertility may be rising'.
But the sensitivity of human sperm to these chemicals means that further investigations should be carried out to determine whether such environmental compounds might contribute to a decrease in human fertility", she said.
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