{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T11:02:07Z","timestamp":1785927727018,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]],"date-time":"2024-02-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1709164800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) of Nigeria","award":["TETFund\/DR&D\/CE\/NRF\/STI\/44\/VOL1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TETFund\/DR&D\/CE\/NRF\/STI\/44\/VOL1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxins"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The objective of this study was to determine the association between mycotoxins and the quality of spermatozoa in Nigeria. We designed a prospective case-control study involving 136 men diagnosed with reduced sperm count and quality in five infertility clinics in southwest Nigeria and 154 normal fertile controls. Sperm analysis was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health OrganizationWHO, while Liquid Chromatography\u2013Mass Spectrometry was used to assay three metabolites of mycotoxins (zearalenone, ochratoxin A, and deoxyvinelol) in the urine samples of cases and controls. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics and non-parametric linear regression. The results showed no overall significant difference in levels of these metabolites between the cases and control groups. In contrast, higher levels of zearalenone and ochratoxin A significantly decreased sperm motility in the cases. Similarly, an increase in the level of ochratoxin A decreased sperm morphology in the unadjusted model in the cases. We conclude that exposure to mycotoxins reduces the quality of spermatozoa (motility and morphology) in Nigerian men but may have no effect on sperm count. Efforts to reduce the exposure of men to mycotoxins are important interventions to improve sperm quality and reduce the prevalence of male infertility in the country.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins16030119","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]],"date-time":"2024-02-29T05:59:19Z","timestamp":1709186359000},"page":"119","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Association of Urinary Mycotoxins with Sperm Quality: A Case-Control Study in Southern Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Friday Ebhodaghe","family":"Okonofua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"},{"name":"Women\u2019s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC), Benin City 300283, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorretta Favour Chizomam","family":"Ntoimo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"},{"name":"Women\u2019s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC), Benin City 300283, Nigeria"},{"name":"Department of Demography and Social Statistics, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti 371104, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9854-3924","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emmanuel Iyayi","family":"Unuabonah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Sciences, Redeemer University, Ede 232101, Nigeria"},{"name":"African Centre of Excellence for Water and Environmental Research (ACEWATER), Redeemer\u2019s University, Ede 232101, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9621-5051","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Titus Afred Makudali","family":"Msagati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering & Technology, University of South Africa, The Science Campus, Corner Christiaan De Wet and Pioneer Drive, Roodepoort, Johannesburg 1709, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3006-5812","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oladiran","family":"Ayodeji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Medical Sciences, Ilaje, Ondo 351104, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Aziken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Akhere","family":"Omonkhua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"},{"name":"Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City 300213, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victor","family":"Ohenhen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Central Hospital, Benin City 300102, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-7468-0129","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Celestina","family":"Olafusi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Medical Sciences, Ilaje, Ondo 351104, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1006-277X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Moses O.","family":"Alfred","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Sciences, Redeemer University, Ede 232101, Nigeria"},{"name":"African Centre of Excellence for Water and Environmental Research (ACEWATER), Redeemer\u2019s University, Ede 232101, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"597","DOI":"10.1038\/s41585-022-00626-w","article-title":"Spatiotemporal trends in human semen quality","volume":"19","author":"Auger","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. 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