Carnitine Improves Sperm Motility

PADOVA, Italy--Researchers from University of Padova demonstrated carnitine supplementation can improve sperm motility in men with poorly active sperm, a condition known as asthenozoospermia. Published in the February 2005 issue of Fertility and Sterility (83, 2:355-61), the research involved 30 asthenozoospermic men divided into two groups according to their mitochondrial function. In those with normal function, sperm movement improved from 29.3 percent before treatment to 41.1 percent after taking 2 g/d of carnitine for three months. The group with abnormal mitochondrial function showed no change in sperm motility. Scientists concluded carnitine can help ameliorate sperm motility under conditions of normally functioning mitochondria.