Commonly used drugs make boars produce super sperm

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As scientists and medical researchers strive to find solutions to all the problems facing humanity, unexpected discoveries can occur that go in completely different (and sometimes surprising) directions. In this case, it was “super sperm.”

But what do boars have to do with sperm quality?

Apparently, it’s a drug called Taxifolin (TAX).

What is Taxifolin?

Researchers have been using Taxifolin (also known as dihydroquercetin), is a natural Flavonoids It can be found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, wine, tea and cocoa. It is also found in cherry wood vinegar, sticky rice cooked with red beans and several coniferous trees.

Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin flavus, meaning yellow, the colour of their nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants and are therefore common in the human diet.

~ Wikipedia

But when it comes to super health, it clearly shows a lot of promise in the management of inflammation, tumors, microbial infections, oxidative stress, cardiovascular and liver disease.

This brings us one step closer to piggy relevance.

Cancer Research Tangent

Because TAX has powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and even anti-tumor properties, scientists are eager to learn whether it can be used in cancer treatment. But there is also curiosity to know whether this flavonoid has other benefits.

Somewhere in the world, there is a room full of people who have switched from cancer research to fertility and sperm research.

So a team of experts from Belgium and China decided to see if TAX feed additive for Duroc boars would have any effect on sperm quality. Long story short, it produced some pretty surprising reactions (sorry for using scientific terms, but you’ll get the idea)…

• Significantly Enhanced sperm motility By increasing protein levels, e.g. ZAG, PKA, CatSper, and Phosphorylation of ERK To improve sperm quality.
• Improved “beneficial” microorganisms For example Enteromonas, Coprococcus, Butyrivibrio and Clostridium_XlVa exist Genus grade.
• Reduce “bad” gut bacteria For example Prevotella, Howard’s disease, Morgiella, and Enterococcus.
• Increases blood levels of testosterone derivatives and antioxidants Such as melatonin and betaine, unsaturated fatty acids such as DHAand beneficial amino acids, such as Proline.
• Reduces 10 different negative bile acids in plasma.

In short, TAX has created a pig’s super sperm by tinkering with its gut microbiota and blood metabolites. In the short term, they think they can use this to improve the reproductive rates of Duroc pigs, which are used as a meat source.

Super sperm and world fertility

Well, the term super sperm is obviously a bit exaggerated. But it is not true. The world’s fertility rate has dropped alarmingly over the past few decades. This is mainly due to our increased use of chemicals and other harmful substances that we can’t seem to live without. In addition, there are poor environmental conditions.

Yes, overpopulation is another problem, and a serious one at that. But that’s another topic.

The assumption is that if humans can control everything, then it would be great if we could still reproduce. So ensuring sperm quality is something that some scientists are concerned about. After more research, they seem to be hopeful that TAX can help.

What do you think?