The Hidden Impact of Microplastics on Male Fertility – And Antioxidants You Can Take To Support Wellness

⚕️ MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your health regimen, diet, or supplement use, especially if you have existing medical conditions or take medications. The information presented here should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Microplastics have been found in our water, our food, and even the air we breathe. Although studies in humans are limited, academic studies in animals and cells show the detrimental impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on male sex hormones, fertility, and reproductive health. 

Studies propose that microplastics can escape the digestive tract, enter the bloodstream, cause oxidative stress and severe inflammation in male testicles and sperm, and ultimately disrupt balanced hormones. 

However, it’s not all bad news. These studies also demonstrate that there are many natural compounds, including antioxidants, that slow, or even reverse, harm to male fertility. 

In this article, we’ll review a breakdown of the science-backed antioxidants that may alleviate male fertility from microplastic damage. This is our second article on the topic. So, if you want a longer list of antioxidant compounds, check out this article. We’ve also added a third article, which can you review here. 

The Role of Antioxidants in Combating Microplastic-Induced Damage to Male Reproductive Wellness

Before diving into specific antioxidants, we should review how microplastics damage male reproductive health. Generally, antioxidants protect testicles and sperm through this pathway:

1. Scavenging reactive oxygen species: Microplastics cause your body to produce defensive compounds called reactive oxygen species. At low levels, they tell your body that you’re hosting an unwelcome guest, and that immune cells should come fight them. At high levels, they cause damage to your own cells, proteins, and DNA. Antioxidants help to prevent harm to your own cells. 
2. Inhibiting inflammation: Once your immune cells respond, they create cytokines, which can destroy unwanted guests. However, as with oxidative stress, if this goes on for too long, it can have negative effects on your own body. Moreover, it takes a lot of energy to maintain an inflammatory state. Antioxidants can calm this inflammation. 
3. Preventing cell death: Overactive states of oxidative stress and inflammation can kill your own cells. Antioxidants also stop the premature death of healthy sperm and testicular cells. 
4. Promoting hormonal balance: Over time, oxidative stress and inflammation prevent testicles from properly producing hormones. So, antioxidants help mitigate these downstream effects. 

In summary, when microplastics enter the bloodstream and relocate to the testicles, they induce oxidative stress and inflammation. This leads to cell death. The combination of dying cells and inflammation leads to reduced or nonoptimal hormone production. By maintaining strong levels of antioxidants, your body lowers the probability of inflammation leading to cell death and disrupted hormones. 

Seven Natural Antioxidants Combating Microplastic-Induced Male Reproductive Damage

• Lycopene: Lycopene was shown to mitigate polystyrene-microplastic-induced reproductive damage by boosting steroid enzymes, preventing cell death, and lowering oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers in two animal studies [5,6]. Lycopene is the red carotenoid in tomatoes, watermelon, and grapefruits that gives them their colors. Along with offsetting microplastic-induced damage to male reproductive health, lycopene has been well-studied for cardiovascular health. It’s for these reasons that lycopene is an active ingredient in Deplasto’s supplement. 

• Chlorella: Chlorella was shown to lower microplastic-induced reproductive harms by improving sex hormone levels, sperm health, and the structural health of the testicles in an animal study[6]. Chlorella is a nutrient dense algae, packed with proteins, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. It’s commonly sold as a supplement, but is also included in Deplasto’s supplement alongside lycopene and other science-backed ingredients. 

• Royal Jelly: A 90-day study on male mice that were exposed to microplastics found that co-treating them with royal jelly protected the mice’s testicles, improved sperm quality, and other reproductive benefits. The scientists found that it was effective by boosting antioxidant enzymes and downregulating inflammatory and cell death genes[7]. 

• Pinostrobin: An antioxidant flavonoid that was experimentally shown to restore glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity in the testes. These are two enzymes that are essential for antioxidant production in the body. Moreover, pinostrobin has been shown to successfully increase sperm motility and sperm count while reducing deformities that are induced by polystyrene microplastics[1]. Pinostrobin is an antioxidant commonly found in fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda), propolis, and pine trees. 
• Cordycepin: A potent bioactive purine nucleoside, cordycepin was experimentally shown to compete with polystyrene inflammatory-triggering receptor TLR4. By competing with polystyrene for this binding site, cordycepin actively alleviates oxidative stress, protecting the blood-testis barrier from microplastic-induced damage, and improving sperm count in male rats exposed to nanoplastics before puberty[3]. As the name suggests, Cordycepin is found in Cordyceps militaris, or cordyceps fungi. 

• Chrysoeriol: Chrysoeriol is a naturally occurring flavone found in the Capsicum genus. For gardeners or hot sauce fans, you may recognize the genus as it includes all types of peppers, including sweet bell peppers and hot peppers. In a rat study, chrysoeriol “potentially decreased all adverse effects induced by microplastics”[4]. These adverse effects included reduced antioxidant activity, increased inflammation, dead and disfigured sperm, and reduced testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels. 

• Pterostilbene: An extremely potent antioxidant found in blueberries, grapes, and peanuts. In a study, pterostilbene was shown to significantly alleviate the accelerated aging of sperm cells that is caused by nanoplastic exposure. Moreover, it suppressed the oxidative stress damaging the sperm[2]. Pterostilbene is commonly found as a supplement. 

These are only a handful of the antioxidants, amino acids, prebiotics and probiotics, and other natural extracts that have been studied alongside microplastics. Because research into the biological effects of microplastics is still evolving, it’s impossible to claim that these compounds have legitimate medical effects. 

Significantly more research is needed to demonstrate this, and regulatory authorities must back any claims, none of which are being made here in this article. For more information on microplastics and nanoplastics, you can check out our extensive library of posts, or refer directly to the FDA’s resources, posted here.

The Benefits of the Deplasto Platform

While it’s nearly impossible to completely avoid microplastics, you don’t have to passively accept that your reproductive health may be under attack. There are tons of simple, small actions that you can take to reduce plastic use in your life and, consequently, do your best to avoid microplastics. 

The Deplasto platform, consisting of a scientifically-backed nutritional supplement, an iOS app for tracking daily microplastic intake, and a portfolio of lifestyle recommendations intended to help you minimize microplastics. 

Our nutritional supplement is formulated to support your body’s natural detoxification pathways, including oxidative stress management, cellular repair, and antioxidant support. Our microplastic intake app enables you to estimate and track your daily microplastic intake, with each datapoint backed by scientific studies. Our lifestyle recommendations, found in our blogs and in our eBook, have a plethora of actions and advice designed to help you make small changes to minimize microplastics. 

Overall, we believe that the best way to eliminate microplastics begins with you and the small changes you make to your daily life. Over time, collectively, we can make a significant difference.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before beginning any new supplement regimen, especially if you are actively trying to conceive or manage a health condition. None of the statements in this article have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products discussed here are not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.

References: 

1. Ijaz MU, Najam S, Hamza A, Azmat R, Ashraf A, Unuofin JO, Lebelo SL, Simal-Gandara J. Pinostrobin alleviates testicular and spermatological damage induced by polystyrene microplastics in adult albino rats. Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Jun;162:114686. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114686. Epub 2023 Apr 10. Erratum in: Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Nov;180:117565. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117565. PMID: 37044025.
2. Yuehui Liang, Yurui Yang, Chunsheng Lu, Ya Cheng, Xiao Jiang, Binwei Yang, Yawen Li, Qing Chen, Lin Ao, Jia Cao, Fei Han, Jinyi Liu, Lina Zhao. Polystyrene nanoplastics exposure triggers spermatogenic cell senescence via the Sirt1/ROS axis. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Volume 279, 2024, 116461, ISSN 0147-6513, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116461.
3. Hu Y, Jiang S, Zhang Q, Zhou W, Liang J, Xu Y, Su W. Protective effect of Cordycepin on blood-testis barrier against pre-puberty polystyrene nanoplastics exposure in male rats. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2024 Aug 9;21(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s12989-024-00590-w. PMID: 39118174; PMCID: PMC11312894.
4. Ijaz, M.U., Saher, F., Aslam, N., Hamza, A., Anwar, H., Alkahtani, S., Khan, H.A., Riaz, M. N., 2023. Evaluation of possible attenuative role of chrysoeriol against polyethylene microplastics instigated testicular damage: a biochemical, spermatogenic and histological study. Food Chem. Toxicol. 180, 114043 https://doi.org/10.1016/j. Fct.2023.114043.
5. Obukohwo, O.M., Abodunrin, O.A., Ejiro, O.P., Rume, R.A., Edesiri, T.P., 2024. Lycopene supplement mitigates polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs)-induced reproductive alteration in rats via modulation of steroidogenic enzymes, inhibition of apoptosis and oxido-inflammatory reaction. Kuwait J. Sci. 51, 100244. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.kjs.2024.100244.
6. El-Din H. Sayed A, Hamed M and Ismail RF (2022) Natural Antioxidants can Improve Microplastics-Induced Male Reproductive Impairment in the African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus). Front. Environ. Sci. 9:811466. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.811466
7. Anbara H, Ghorbani M, Shahriary A. Anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of royal jelly against polystyrene microplastic-induced testicular injury in mice. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2024;27(12):1515-1528. doi: 10.22038/ijbms.2024.78787.17037. PMID: 39539451; PMCID: PMC11556760.
8. FDA. “Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Foods.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 24 July 2024, www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/microplastics-and-nanoplastics-foods.