Relevance of Fatty Acids to Sperm Maturation and Quality
Table 2
Seminal fatty acid levels in normozoospermia compared to abnormal seminal conditions.
Fatty acid category
Fatty acid (common name and number of carbons and double bonds)
Fatty acid contents§
Normozoospermia
OAT
AT
Varicocele
SFAs
Myristic acid (C14:0)
0.42
0.23
0.26
0.27
Palmitic acid (C16:0)
23.97
18.98
19.58
20.67
Stearic acid (C18:0)
22.05
25.53
24.30
23.92
Arachidic acid (C20:0)
1.16
1.58
1.53
1.26
Behenic acid (C22:0)
0.71
0.29
0.05
0.05
Lignoceric acid (C24:0)
0.08
0.1
0.09
0.07
Cerotic acids (C26:0)
0.09
0.10
0.09
0.12
MUFAs
Myristoleic acid (C14:1n-5)
0.12
0.23
0.11
0.18
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1n-7)
0.34
0.24
0.25
0.28
Vaccenic acid (C18:1n-7)
3.39
3.40
3.20
3.61
Oleic acid (C18:1n-9)
16.61
22.44
19.21
17.53
Gondoic acid (C20:1n-9)
1.40
2.39
2.04
1.84
Erucic acid (C22:1n-9)
0.05
0.41
0.43
0.45
Nervonic acid (C24:1n-9)
0.28
0.23
0.06
0.05
n-3 PUFAs
α-Linolenic acid (C18:3)
0.32
0.48
0.40
0.41
Eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3)
0.11
0.15
0.09
0.07
Eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5)
0.40
0.21
0.11
0.11
Docosapentaenoic acid (C22:5)
0.72
0.43
0.65
0.61
Docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6)
12.82
3.42
7.67
8.33
n-6 PUFAs
Linoleic acid (C18:2)
3.59
3.22
3.67
3.67
γ-Linolenic acid (C18:3)
0.05
0.13
0.11
0.12
Eicosadienoic acid (C20:2)
0.65
0.63
0.81
0.79
Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (C20:3)
4.11
3.54
4.07
4.11
Arachidonic acid (C20:4)
4.77
5.59
5.51
5.23
Docosadienoic acid (C22:2)
0.10
0.20
0.16
0.18
Adrenic acid (C22:4)
0.85
0.93
0.91
0.93
Osbond acid (C22:5)
0.84
1
1.01
1.05
SFAs: saturated fatty acids; MUFAs: monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFAs: polyunsaturated fatty acids; AT: asthenozoospermia; OAT: oligoasthenoteratozoospermia; controls compared to AT, OAT, and varicocele (,).§Fatty acid contents are reported as percentage of total FAs by weight for samples of whole seminal fluid and are referred to Zerbinati et al. [59].
