Chlorinated pesticide concentration in semen of fertile and infertile men and correlation with sperm quality

In recent years controversy has evolved regarding the role of environmental pollutants especially chlorinated pesticides and heavy metals on male infertility. Previous data generated on the correlation of chlorinated pesticides with human semen are scarce and controversial. The objective is to explore the possibility of correlation if any between the chlorinated pesticides and sperm count and motility. Semen analysis were performed in 50 samples collected each from fertile and infertile men and pesticides estimation for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE); 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl ethane) (pp′DDT); 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (pp′DDD), 1,1,1-trichloro-2-(o-chlorophenyl)-2-(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (op′DDT), aldrin, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), delta (δ) were done by gas liquid chromatography. The higher concentrations of pesticide, viz. α-, β-, γ-, δ-HCH, DDT and its metabolites (pp′DDE and pp′DDD) were detected in semen samples of infertile males. The data showed significant association between β-HCH, γ-HCH, pp′DDE, pp′DDD with semen quality parameters.