Oxidative stress and the influence of reactive oxygen species on the function of semen

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in physiological metabolic processes in genital cells, and at the same time are one of the major factors in male sterility. The role of ROS in the physiology and pathology of semen depends on equilibrium between their production and neutralization processes. It is conditioned by the efficiency of antioxidative cell mechanisms and the edo- and egzogenic supply of reactive oxygen species. Disorders in this equilibrium in the direction of increasing the reactive oxygen species level produces oxidative stress causing functional disturbances in genital male cells.