Zestica Fertility Lubricant
Zestica Fertility is a water based personal lubricant formulated specifically for sperm motility. This patent pending formula has undergone several trials comparing other fertility lubricants and In-Vitro-Fertilisation medium used in IVF Clinics. During the trials Zestica Fertility outperformed both competing products and IVF medium for sperm motility giving “trying to conceive” (TTC) couples a better chance. The lubricant is made using Hyaluronic Acid (HA), a natural molecule (non-animal sourced) already produced in the body. Zestica Fertility is odourless and gentle to the touch.
- A new personal lubricant formulated for couples trying to conceive
- Completely natural and gentle to meet uncomfortable dryness
- Patent Formulated to maintain sperm motility (movement)
Zestica Fertility Studies
A variety of studies show that up to 20% of couples trying for a baby have fertility issues. (1) The definition for this is: it takes them longer than 12 months to conceive.
In 50% of cases the issues lie only with the woman, in 30% of cases: only with the man and in 20% of cases there are issues with both partners. (2)
One of the male factors is the quality of sperm, which has declined over the last few decades. (3) It also declines with age. (4,5)
The quality could relate to volume, motility, DNA integrity or a combination of these.
Whilst a healthy, balanced vaginal flora is important in the period of conception and pregnancy, it is a hostile environment for sperm. (6)
If couples with fertility issues use ordinary lubricants they create additional risks to kill sperm.
Sperm-friendly lubricants have appeared on the market but they only focus on creating a vaginal pH that is less hostile to sperm. Low vaginal pH can immobilise sperm in one minute and kill sperm within 10 minutes. (6) Semen usually raises the pH to around 7.2 within seconds. (7)
The Zestica Fertility lubricant creates a suitable pH of 7.0 but also adds additional potential benefits. It contains HA which has been linked to a number of benefits.
HA is highly selective for motile sperm. (8) Zestica Fertility lubricant studies have shown improved motility in cases where poor motility was an issue.
Studies on the exact interactions are ongoing. One theory looks at the internal pH of sperm (6.0) which has to be maintained for its motility. (9,10) The external pH of 4.0 of a healthy vagina results in an equalising of internal and external pH within 2 minutes (6), with a resulting loss of motility. Studies are needed to show whether HA provides some protection for the internal pH.
Other studies show that HA-bound sperm attaches to the oviduct if ovulation has not happened yet.(11) It could therefore provide an additional chance of fertilisation at the time of ovulation.
HA is also selective for non-DNA damaged sperm. Three studies (12) found:
- A substantial reduction in DNA fragmentation in HA-bound sperm
- A significantly enhanced nucleus normalcy in HA-bound sperm
- ICSI with HA-bound sperm demonstrated a significantly higher embryo quality and development
One of the factors affecting fertilisation is the lack of Zona Pellucida binding. HA and ZP have similar receptors for sperm detection. (13) If HA is not only selective for high DNA-integrity but also provides protection to help motility, it has an important role to play as a fertility lubricant.
References:
1. Gunnell DJ, Ewings P
“Infertility prevalence, needs assessment and purchasing.”
Journal of Public Health Medicine 1994; 16:29-36
2. SF Shaban
“Male infertility overview.”
Univ North Carolina School of Medicine, Div Urology, 2007
3. Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebaek NE
“Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years.”
BMJ 1992 Sep 12; 305(6854):609-13
4. Kidd SA, Eskenazi B, Wyrobek AJ
“Effects of male age on semen quality and fertility: a review of the literature.”
Fertil Steril 2001 Feb; 75(2):237-48
5. Eskenazi B, Wyrobek AJ, Sloter E, Kidd SA, Moore L, Young S, Moore D
“The association of age and semen quality in healthy men.”
Hum Reprod 2003 Feb; 18(2):447-54
6. SS Olmsted, NH Dubin, RA Cone, TR Moench
“The rate at which human sperm are immobilized and killed by mild acidity.”
Fertil Steril 2000 Vol73 Issue 4, pp 687-693
7. Fox CA, Meldrum SJ, Watson BW
“Continuous measurement by radio-telemetry of vaginal pH during human coitus.”
J Reprod Fertil 1973, Vol 33: 69-75
8. R Bains, DM Mil, RJ Carson, J Adeghe
“Hyaluronic acid increases motility / intracellular CA 2+ concentration in human sperm in vitro.”
Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2001, Vol 47, No 2: pp 119-125
9. S Hamamah, JL Gatti
“Role of the ionic environment and internal pH on sperm activity.”
Hum Rep 1998, Vol 13, Issue sippl.4: 20-30
10. Florman HM, Jungnickel MK, Sutton KA
“Shedding light on sperm pHertility.”
Cell 2010 Feb 5; 140(3):327-37
11. Kimura N, Hoshino Y, Totsukawa K, Sato E
“Cellular and molecular events during oocyte maturation in mammals: molecules of cumulus-oocyte complex matrix and signalling pathways regulating meiotic progression.”
Society of Reproduction and Fertility Supplement 63: 327-342
12. P armegiani L, Cognigni GE, Sernardi S, Troilo E, Ciampaglia W, Filicori M
“ Physiologic ICSI: Hyaluronic acid favors selection of spermatozoa without DNA fragmentation and with normal nucleus, resulting in improvement of embryo quality.”
Fertil Steril 2009, Apr 24. Published ahead of print.
13. Huszar G, Ozkavukcu S, Jakab A et al
“Hyaluronic acid binding ability of human sperm reflects cellular maturity and fertilizing potential: selection of sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.”
Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006, 18:260-267