Maca is an herb found in the Andes mountains in South America, and also known as a libido booster. A study was designed to determine the effect of a 4-month oral treatment with tablets of Maca on seminal analysis in adult normal men aged 24-44 years old. Nine men received tablets of maca (1500 or 3000 mg per day) for 4 months. Treatment with maca resulted in increased seminal volume, sperm count per ejaculation, and sperm motility, which would indicate positive effects on fertility.

Effect of Black maca (Lepidium meyenii) on one spermatogenic cycle in rats.
Andrologia. 2006 Oct;38(5):166-72. Instituto de Investigaciones de la Altura, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Lepidium meyenii ( Maca ) grows exclusively between 4000 and 4500 m above sea level in the Peruvian central Andes. The hypocotyls of this plant are traditionally used in the Andean region for their supposed fertility-enhancing properties. The hypocotyls have different colours. Of these, Black maca has better effects on spermatogenesis. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that Black maca has early effects during a spermatogenic cycle (12 days) of male rats. For this, testicular spermatid, epididymal sperm and vas deferens sperm counts were measured after 1, 3, 5, 7 and 12 days of treatment with Black maca. From this, it is suggested that first action of Black maca was at epididymal level increasing sperm count after 1 day of treatment, whereas an increase in sperm count was observed in vas deferens at day 3 of treatment. Testicular testosterone was not affected after 7 days treatment with Black maca. In conclusion, Black maca affects sperm count as early as 1 day after beginning of treatment.

Carnitine and acetylcarnitine are nutrients that helps sperm motility.

Fish oils could help increase sperm volume

Antioxidants could be helpful

Antioxidant intake is associated with semen quality in healthy men.
Hum Reprod. 2005 Apr;20(4):1006-12. Eskenazi B, Kidd SA, et al. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
We seek to determine whether dietary and supplement intake of specific micronutrients (zinc and folate) and antioxidants (vitamins C, E and beta-carotene) is associated with semen quality. Ninety-seven healthy, non-smoking men provided semen and were interviewed. Average daily nutrient intake from food and supplements was derived from a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Intake levels were summarized as low, moderate and high. Semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility, progressive motility and total progressively motile sperm count (TPMS) were measured. After controlling for covariates, a high intake of antioxidants was associated with better semen quality but, in almost all cases, there was no clear dose relationship in that moderate intake groups had the poorest semen quality. Folate and zinc intake were not associated with improved semen quality. In a convenience sample of healthy non-smoking men from a non-clinical setting, higher antioxidant intake was associated with higher sperm numbers and motility.

Male Sperm Production
For men with low sperm count, sexual abstinence -- but only for a day -- increases semen quality. More prolonged sexual abstinence may actually reduce sperm numbers. After only two days of abstinence, sperm from patients with male factor infertility initiate a process of quality degradation. The findings are important for men trying to father children through in vitro fertilization, or even through the natural method.

Human Sperm
Remarkably few sperm are actually produced with each ejaculation. There's usually 2-6 millilitres (about one half to a teaspoon), which contains between 200-300 million sperm and a mixture of sugar, protein, vitamin C, zinc and prostaglandins (the latter help the sperm travel through the womb). The sperm only make up 5% of the volume. And it's low in calories - just five per teaspoonful.

How long do Sperm live - Sperm life span
Sperm can live 2 to 3 days after ejaculation into the vagina (maximum 5-6 days). Sperm that are ejaculated only live an hour or two outside the body depending on where they are, how much exposure the sperm have to air, heat, sun, etc.

Normal Sperm Count
A normal sperm count is 20 million or more sperm per milliliter of semen. At least 60 percent of those sperm should have a normal shape and show normal forward movement (motility). These numbers are a bit arbitrary because some men with low sperm counts have fathered children. Likewise, some men with higher sperm counts have been unable to father children. Newer methods of artificial insemination can produce pregnancies when low sperm count is a factor.

Sperm Extraction
Sperm extraction is unlikely to be successful in men with a chromosomal disorder known as Klinefelter's syndrome who are over 35 years of age. If the diagnosis is Klinefelter's syndrome, testicular sperm extraction should be performed before the critical age of 35 years. Men with Klinefelter's syndrome have an extra X chromosome. The most common consequence of this syndrome is infertility. Researchers attempted to obtain sperm -- to be used in assisted reproduction by intracytoplasmic sperm injection -- from 51 men with Klinefelter's syndrome and azoospermia (the absence of live sperm in semen). The physicians succeeded in obtaining sperm from testicular tissue in 26 and failed in 25 of the men. The median age was 31 years in the successful cases and 38 in the failed cases. The rate of successful retrieval was significantly higher in those younger than 35 years of age than in older patients. SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, December 2005. Sperm Sex.

Increasing Sperm Count, Sperm Volume and Sperm Motility Research Update
Placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial on the use of L-carnitine, L-acetylcarnitine, or combined L-carnitine and L-acetylcarnitine in men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia.
SOURCE: Fertility & Sterility 2005 Sep;84(3):662-71.
To evaluate the effectiveness of L-carnitine or L-acetyl-carnitine or combined carnitine and acetyl carnitine treatment in improving human semen kinetic parameters and the total oxyradical scavenging capacity in semen. CONCLUSION(S): The administration of carnitine and acetyl carnitine is effective in increasing sperm kinetic features in patients affected by idiopathic asthenozoospemia and improves the total oxyradical scavenging capacity of the seminal fluid in the same population.

Blood in Sperm
The occurrence of blood in the sperm ejaculate is not common. The majority of cases of blood in sperm are benign and self-limiting - many cases are assumed to be the result of minor trauma in the genital tract. Another possible cause is prostatitis where there is also perineal pain.

Sperm Cell
Sperm (cell): male gamete composed of a head and a flagellum. The acrosome Is the organelle situated a the point of the head of a spermatozoid.

Sperm Morphology
Sperm morphology basically describes the percentage of sperm that look normal. Common causes of abnormal morphology include varicocele, drugs, heat, infrequent ejaculation,

How to produce more sperm - Sperm fact
Semen consists of sperm cells, testicle fluid (5%), seminal fluid (60%), prostate fluid (30%) and Cowper's gland fluid (5%). Eating more fish or taking fish oil supplements could potentially help.

Sperm and Insecticides
Higher levels of 1-naphthol (1N) in men's urine is associated with decreased sperm concentration and motility and increased DNA damage in sperm cells. 1N is a breakdown product of carbaryl, a lawn and garden insecticide known as Sevin, and the compound naphthalene, which is found in cigarette smoke, diesel fuel and other combustion byproducts. Men with higher urine levels of TCPY and 1N have lower levels of the sex hormone testosterone. Epidemiology, January 2006.

Sperm and Ozone
Smog is not just bad for the lungs. It can hit a man's sperm count too. The University of Southern California looked at the sperm counts of 48 men who donated at least 10 times in two years to a Los Angeles sperm bank. Using air pollution measurements from the area where each man lived, Rebecca Sokol's team estimated how much pollutant they were exposed to in the days leading up to each donation. The team, from the University's Keck School of Medicine, found that ozone formed in smoggy air was the only pollutant that appeared to be linked to decreased sperm production. Carbon monoxide seemed to have no effect. Ozone cannot reach the testicles directly but it may cause an inflammatory response or produce toxic substances in the blood that damage sperm.

Sperm Donation - Sperm Donor risks
Sperm donation is a well-established form of assisted conception treatment.  Sperm donation has been used for more than one hundred years. In some countries, sperm donation is not allowed. The use of frozen sperm is now mandatory in many countries to minimize the risk of HIV transmission to the recipients.
     It was reported in May 2006 that a sperm donor passed an extremely rare and dangerous genetic ailment to five children born to four couples. The disease, severe congenital neutropenia, can be fatal in children if untreated but is so rare that sperm banks do not test for it. Moreover, the family medical history that sperm donors must provide would not necessarily reveal such a defect, especially if the man is only a carrier and has no symptoms. The four couples used the same sperm bank, said Dr. Lawrence A. Boxer, lead author of the article in The Journal of Pediatrics, a Philadelphia publication.

Sperm Donor - Sperm Bank
A sperm donor is a man who gives or more usually sells his sperm, to a sperm bank, primarily for the purpose of assisting a woman anonymous to him to conceive via artificial insemination. Donors have to undergo certain health checks but it is difficult to become a sperm donor as few men has the high sperm quality needed and will pass the medical check, interviews and family medical history investigation. Therefore only between 5-10% of applicants are approved. In the USA donors are constantly tested and monitored and all sperm is stored for a minimum of 6 months and can not be released for sale before the donor is then retested for among other things: Human immunoviruses HIV-1 and HIV-2, Human T cell lymphotropic viruses HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis B and hepatitis C, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Cystic fibrosis, Karyotyping 46, XY, Spongiform Encephalopathy or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Sperm Count emails
Q. Dr. Sahelian, There are a number of alleged sperm enhancers out there, i.e sememax, volumpills, spermamax. They are they all claim natural herbals. Do you plan to develope a natural supplement to enhance sperm production, or possibly increasing sperm count, or do you have anything similar.
   A. Anecdotal reports indicate Passion Rx increases sperm production and volume, and fish oils could be helpful in increasing sperm volume, along with eating cold water fish such as salmon and halibut. We have not studied Semenax, Volumpills or Spermanax to know whether they are effective to enhance sperm production.

Q. I keep getting spam promoting a product called Spur M for more sperm. Almost every day a Spur M spam comes to my email box. Spur M promises to increase sperm count. Do you have a Spur M review? They promise Spur-M XtraCum improves quality of sperm, motility of sperm, reversal of low sperm count, overall improved production of semen and sperm.
   A. Any company, such as Spur M, that sends out unsolicited email, or spam, is immediately suspect. I would not even trust that Spur M has the ingredients they list until proven otherwise. If a company is shady enough to send spam, they cannot be trusted on anything. An internet search reveals that Spur M has several ingredients. Each Spur M tablet contains: Salabmisri (Orchis mascula) 130mg, Kokilaksha (Hygrophila auriculata Syn. Asteracantha longifolia) 64mg, Vanya Kahu (Lactuca scariola) 32mg, Kapikachchu (Mucuna pruriens) 32mg, Suvarnavang (Mosaic gold) 32mg; Extracts Vriddadaru (Argyreia speciosa) 64mg, Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) 64mg, Jeevanti (Leptadenia reticulata) 64mg, Shaileyam (Parmelia perlata) 32mg.
     Speman promotes spermatogenesis by improving the testicular, seminal vesicle and epididymal functions. Speman improves the sperm count and the quality of semen by increasing the LH-FSH producing basophil cells in the pituitary. Each Speman tablet contains:Pdrs. Salabmisri (Orchis mascula) 130mg, Kokilaksha (Hygrophila auriculata Syn. Asteracantha longifolia) 64mg, Vanya kahu (Lactuca scariola Syn. L.serriola) 32mg, Kapikachchhu (Mucuna pruriens) 32mg, Suvarnavang (Mosaic gold) 32mg, Extrs. Vriddadaru (Argyreia speciosa Syn. A.nervosa) 64mg, Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) 64mg, Jeevanti (Leptadenia reticulata) 64mg, Shaileyam (Parmelia perlata) 32mg.

Q. My friend told me that sperm quality goes bad with age, is that true?
     A. Sperm declines in quality as men age, swimming more slowly and becoming more genetically defective. Even though men make fresh sperm every day and can father children well into old age, they become less fertile and also tend to have more children with birth defects. Men who wait until they are old to have children may be increasing the risk of having children with genetic problems.

Q. Thanks for your honest attempts to answer difficult questions. I know you cannot prescribe treatments and that everyone is individual- ie you are  totally off the hook as far as I am concerned. My question: I will get Passion Rx and try it. Does it possibly increase volume of ejaculation? I see that you made a comment about some product Spur M which I had never heard of. You discounted anything that arrives as a spam email with which I agree. Do you have a product that specifically address the sperm volume issue, or can you suggest some things I could look.
     A. Some people report Passion Rx to increase sperm volume, and you could consider eating a lot more cold water fish such as salmon, halibut, sardines, etc which have protein and important oils found in sperm. Perhaps fish oil capsules may help, too, but we are not fully sure of this.