Lycopene from Sibelius Natural Products may support male reproductive health, says new study

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A study recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition¹ found that a proprietary lycopene extract (Sibelius: LactoMato) from Sibelius Natural Products (Oxford, UK) may support male reproductive health. In the double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study, 56 healthy males were randomized to receive 14 mg of the lycopene extract or placebo, daily for 12 weeks.

Results showed that while the lycopene group did not show significant improvement in motile sperm concentration (the primary endpoint), the subjects taking lycopene did see significant improvement in measures of sperm quality, including a significant increase in the proportion of fast progressive sperm and sperm with normal morphology. While the researchers cannot draw conclusions about how these improvements will impact the chances of natural pregnancy, the results do encourage further study.

“The improved bioavailability of LactoLycopene allows the body to get the most out of this potent antioxidant; potentially protecting semen from oxidative stress and promoting higher concentration and quality of produced sperm,” said Kieron Edwards, PhD, chief scientific officer at Sibelius Natural Products, in a press release. “The results from the trial show that Sibelius: LactoMato has great potential to improve men’s health. We look forward to our continued research of this ingredients efficacy in further human clinical trials.”

The ingredient is distributed in the United States by Barrington Nutritionals (Harrison, NY).
 

References:

1. Williams EA et al. “A randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effect of lactolycopene on semen quality in healthy males.” European Journal of Nutrition, Published online ahead of print October 8, 2019