# 5HTP and sperm count and quality



## shocks (Feb 19, 2013)

Does 5htp affect sperm count and quality. Ive read st john wots certainly does. So I wondered wheather 5htp has the same negative affect.


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## shocks (Feb 19, 2013)

Bump for info


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## Matt2 (Feb 7, 2012)

From http://ivf.ca/forums/topic/17821-5-htp-and-sperm-health/

There are no studies on 5HTP and sperm quality or count. There is some preliminary evidence that 5-HTP may cause some hormonal shifts in the body especially initially related to elevating cortisol or prolactin levels. Although this research is still preliminary and is not conclusive at all it might be best to avoid this until cycle is complete. That being said, I have had male patients who had already been taking 5htp for a long time and have not had any problems related to fertility!


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## shocksl (Jun 19, 2012)

how is elivated cortisol and prolactin not good?


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

Matt2 said:


> From http://ivf.ca/forums/topic/17821-5-htp-and-sperm-health/
> 
> There are no studies on 5HTP and sperm quality or count. There is some preliminary evidence that 5-HTP may cause some hormonal shifts in the body especially initially related to elevating cortisol or prolactin levels. Although this research is still preliminary and is not conclusive at all it might be best to avoid this until cycle is complete. That being said, I have had male patients who had already been taking 5htp for a long time and have not had any problems related to fertility!


As far as I recall 5-htp only increases cortisol levels to any meaningful degree in people suffering severe depression or bipolar conditions... for prolactin I don't know.



shocksl said:


> how is elivated cortisol and prolactin not good?


Cortisol works against testosterone - not only does elevated cortisol cause a relatively proportional drop in testosterone, it also blocks the receptors testosterone needs to attach to to cause its effect. Since semen quantity and quality pretty much goes hand in hand with healthy testosterone levels and receptor binding ability, high cortisol is not desirable for that.

Prolactin in high levels is also bad because it negatively affects testicular function. Both prolactin and cortisol at normal levels however are not things to worry about - is only when something causes them to be elevated too high for too long that issues develop.

In respect of your original question, I think any effect of 5-htp is going to be pretty much irrelevant if you are otherwise healthy, but to be fair there isn't much clinical evidence to go by so I can't be totally certain. it doesn't appear as a commonly reported side effect from 5 htp however, and that's a good clue.

If you have any fertility or hormonal issues however then I guess maybe some effect, but again it;s not a commonly reported problem supplement that I've seen. I can't think of a direct physiological reason why it would cause issues either, but to be fair this isn't my strongest area.


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