The role of environmental factors in influencing health status is well documented. Heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, pesticides, ultrafine particles, produced by human activities put a strain on the body’s entire defense system. Therefore, together with public health measures, evidence-based individual resilience measures are necessary to mitigate cancer risk under environmental stress and to prevent reproductive dysfunction and non-communicable diseases; this is especially relevant for workers occupationally exposed to pollutants and/or populations residing in highly polluted areas. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids, that can promote the elimination of pollutants in tissues and fluids and/or mitigate their effects through different mechanisms. In this review, we collected evidence from pre-clinical and clinical studies showing that the impairment of male fertility and gonadal development, as well as cancers of reproductive system, due to the exposure of organic and inorganic pollutants, may be counteracted by flavonoids.

/pdf/mediterranean-diet-as-a-shield-against-male-infertility-and-1yeo6tyh.pdf

Mediterranean Diet as a Shield against Male Infertility and Cancer Risk Induced by Environmental Pollutants: A Focus on Flavonoids

Oxidative stress (OS) due to an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants has been established as an important factor that can negatively affect the outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). Excess ROS exert their pathological effects through damage to cellular lipids, organelles, and DNA, alteration of enzymatic function, and apoptosis. ROS can be produced intracellularly, from immature sperm, oocytes, and embryos. Additionally, several external factors may induce high ROS production in the ART setup, including atmospheric oxygen, CO2 incubators, consumables, visible light, temperature, humidity, volatile organic compounds, and culture media additives. Pathological amounts of ROS can also be generated during the cryopreservation-thawing process of gametes or embryos. Generally, these factors can act at any stage during ART, from gamete preparation to embryo development, till the blastocyst stage. In this review, we discuss the in vitro conditions and environmental factors responsible for the induction of OS in an ART setting. In addition, we describe the effects of OS on gametes and embryos. Furthermore, we highlight strategies to ameliorate the impact of OS during the whole human embryo culture period, from gametes to blastocyst stage.

/pdf/oxidative-stress-and-assisted-reproduction-a-comprehensive-1avf2zj3.pdf

Oxidative Stress and Assisted Reproduction: A Comprehensive Review of Its Pathophysiological Role and Strategies for Optimizing Embryo Culture Environment

It is known that cadmium damages testis structure and functionality. We examined the effects of nutraceuticals such as a flavonoid-rich extract of bergamot juice (BJe), alone or in association with curcumin (Cur) and resveratrol (Re), on mice testicular dysfunction caused by cadmium chloride (CdCl2). Controversial data on the protective effects of Cur and Re are available, while no evidence on the possible role of BJe exists. Adult male C57 BL/6J mice were administered with CdCl2 and treated with Cur, Re, or BJe alone or in combination for 14 days. Then, testes were removed and processed for molecular, structural, and immunohistochemical analyses. CdCl2 increased the mRNA of IL-1β, TNF-α, p53, and BAX while reduced that of Bcl-2 and induced tubular lesions and apoptosis of germinal cells. Cur, Re, and BJe at 40 mg/kg significantly improved all of these parameters and events, although BJe at 20 mg/kg showed a lower protective effect. The association of Cur, Re, and BJe at both doses of 50/20/20 and 100/20/40 mg/kg brought each parameter close to those of the control. Our results indicate that the nutraceuticals employed in this study and their associations exert a positive action against Cd-induced testicular injury, suggesting a possible protection of testis functionality in subjects exposed to environmental toxicants.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/5/386/pdf

A Flavonoid-Rich Extract from Bergamot Juice, Alone or in Association with Curcumin and Resveratrol, Shows Protective Effects in a Murine Model of Cadmium-Induced Testicular Injury.

Exhaled breath analysis has become more and more popular as a supplementary tool for medical diagnosis. However, the number of variables that have to be taken into account forces researchers to develop novel algorithms for proper data interpretation. This paper presents a system for analyzing exhaled air with the use of various sensors. Breath simulations with acetone as a diabetes biomarker were performed using the proposed e-nose system. The XGBoost algorithm for diabetes detection based on artificial breath analysis is presented. The results have shown that the designed system based on the XGBoost algorithm is highly selective for acetone, even at low concentrations. Moreover, in comparison with other commonly used algorithms, it was shown that XGBoost exhibits the highest performance and recall.

Artificial Breath Classification Using XGBoost Algorithm for Diabetes Detection.

Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread heavy metal and a ubiquitous environmental toxicant. For the general population, the principal causes of Cd exposure are cigarette smoking, air pollution and contaminated water and food consumption, whereas occupational exposure usually involves humans working in mines or manufacturing batteries and pigments that utilize Cd. The aim of the present review is to evaluate recent data regarding the mechanisms of Cd-induced testicular structural and functional damages and the state of the art of the therapeutic approaches. Additionally, as the current literature demonstrates convincing associations between diet, food components and men’s sexual health, a coherent nutraceutical supplementation may be a new valid therapeutic strategy for both the prevention and alleviation of Cd-induced testicular injury. The toxic effects on testes induced by Cd include many specific mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. As no specific therapy for the prevention or treatment of the morbidity and mortality associated with Cd exposure is available, the development of new therapeutic agents is requested. Dietary strategies and the use of nutraceuticals, particularly abundant in fresh fruits, beans, vegetables and grains, typical of the Mediterranean diet, are recommended against Cd-induced testicular injury.

/pdf/nutraceuticals-a-new-challenge-against-cadmium-induced-hwmdjwbt.pdf

Nutraceuticals: A New Challenge against Cadmium-Induced Testicular Injury

Background Human semen quality is affected by lifestyle and environmental factors. Objective To evaluate the short-term effects of a diet and physical activity intervention on semen quality of healthy young men living in highly polluted areas of Italy. Design, setting, and participants A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Healthy young men were assigned to an intervention or a control group. Intervention A 4-mo Mediterranean diet and moderate physical activity program. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis The primary outcomes were sperm concentration, motility and morphology, concentration of round cells, and semen total antioxidant capacity. Secondary outcomes were adherence to Mediterranean diet and physical activity. All outcomes were measured twice, at the enrollment (t0) and at the end of the intervention (t4). Results and limitations A total of 263 individuals attended all visits, and underwent examinations and laboratory analyses: 137 in the intervention group and 126 in the control group. The adherence to Mediterranean diet and physical activity level increased more in the intervention group than in the control group from t0 to t4. Sperm concentration, total and progressive motility, and proportion of normal morphology cells increased in the intervention group but decreased in the control group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups at t4. The total antioxidant capacity increased in the intervention group but decreased in the control group, from t0 to t4. Conclusions Study results showed that an intervention based on Mediterranean diet and regular physical activity can determine an improvement of semen quality in healthy young men. Patient summary Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of a lifestyle intervention on semen quality of healthy young men. We assigned the 263 enrolled individuals to an intervention or a control group. The intervention group followed a 4-mo Mediterranean diet and moderate physical activity program, at the end of which the participants showed an improvement of semen quality parameters.

Effects of a Lifestyle Change Intervention on Semen Quality in Healthy Young Men Living in Highly Polluted Areas in Italy: The FASt Randomized Controlled Trial.

Blood, urine and semen Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) pattern analysis for assessing health environmental impact in highly polluted areas in Italy.

Air pollution is involved in many pathologies. The pollutants act through several mechanisms that can affect numerous physiological functions, including reproduction. In this work we used a double approach to analyse the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) component in 4 different biosamples (whole blood, urine, human semen and hairs) of young men (about 18 years old) living in the sadly famous area called “Land of fires” in Campania region (South-Western Italy), known to contain the largest illegal waste dump in Europe, in order to explore hypothesized correlation between VOCs in biofluid and man infertility due to environmental pollution. The double approach is based on two different technologies: (a) SPME-GC/MS (Solid Phase Microextraction—Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry) system and (b) array of gas sensors. The preliminary data seems to be compatible with the EcoFoodFertility Project hypothesis that human semen is a good biological fluid to study volatile component as bioaccumulator of both exogenous and endogenous VOCs.

Sebastiana Pappalardo

Papers

Effects of a Lifestyle Change Intervention on Semen Quality in Healthy Young Men Living in Highly Polluted Areas in Italy: The FASt Randomized Controlled Trial.

Blood, urine and semen Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) pattern analysis for assessing health environmental impact in highly polluted areas in Italy.

Double Approach to Study VOC Composition in Biofluids of Young Men Living in the “Land of Fires” in Campania Region