Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There is concern that unintended environmental exposures to numerous chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), all of which can be detected in serum and urine, may have adverse endocrine effects on human reproduction. Less is known about the concentrations of these chemicals in other body fluids. Here we present data, which show that these three chemicals can also be present in seminal fluid of young men.

Materials and methods: From an ongoing study on male reproductive function in young men from a general population, we selected 28 men with high urinary excretion of BP-3, which were examined in 2007 and from which both serum and seminal fluid were available for chemical analysis. Serum and semen samples were collected within one hour. Samples were analyzed for TCS, BPA, and BP-3 by TurboFlow LC–MS/MS.

Results: BPA, TCS, and BP-3 were detected in respectively 54, 18, and 29% of the seminal fluid samples in concentrations ranging from <LOD, 8.470 ng/ml (BPA); <LOD, 6.654 ng/ml (TCS); and <LOD, 18.236 ng/ml (BP3) respectively. Thus, some subjects had extremely high levels in seminal fluid. The five men with the highest concentrations of TCS and BP-3 in serum also had the highest concentrations of TCS and BP-3 in seminal fluid. In some men the concentrations of BP-3 were higher in the seminal fluid sample than in the serum sample.

Conclusion: BPA, TCS, and BP-3 were detected in seminal fluid from a significant proportion of young men from a general population. We do not know whether the seminal plasma content of BP-3, TCS, and BPA originate from rete testis fluid, the epididymis, the prostate or the seminal vesicles. It remains to be seen whether the presence of these chemicals in seminal fluid is associated with effects on testicular hormones, sperm cell function, or the female reproductive tract.