In-vitro effect of pentoxifylline on sperm motility and seminal plasma phosphatases activity

ABSTRACT

From this in vitro study, it was found that the addition of pentoxifylline [a phosphodiestrase inhibitor] to the semen of asthenozoospermic and oligo-asthenozoospermic patients increased the percentage of motility of the sperms from 50.07 +/- 20.83 [mean +/- S.D.] to 63.33 +/- 21.78 [mean +/- S.D.] and this increase was found to be highly significant [p < 0.001]. The action of this drug was found to be optimal at a dose of 0.2 mg/ml of semen. Addition of 0.2 mg pentoxifylline to each ml of semen also resulted in increase of the activity of each of acid and alkaline phosphatase and this increase of the activity was found to be statistically significant at p < 0.0001. The increase in the percentage of motility of spermatozoa of subfertile patients after addition of pentoxifylline [0.2 mg/ml] is assumed to be related to the increased activities of both acid and alkaline phosphatase which are brought about by the action of this drug