The quantity of gold in semen decides the levels of fertility in men

Syed Akbar

Hyderabad:  The quantity of gold in semen decides the levels of fertility in men with an average healthy level of 0.88 micrograms per ml of seminal fluid. Those with a gold content below 0.10 micrograms per ml fail to produce children.

Though ancient Ayurveda texts link gold with male fertility, it is for the first time that the exact content of gold in semen is studied to determine the fertility levels in men. Doctors from CSM Medical University in Lucknow have found that semen samples of healthy and fertile men contained gold ranging from 0.36 to 1.98 micrograms per ml with a mean value of 0.88 micrograms per ml.

The doctors used atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine the content of gold in sperm. The body contains a number of minerals and trace elements including gold. Traces metals in the body are linked to environment pollution, but Ayurveda doctors believe that entry of gold through food or soil contamination is actually good for male fertility. The higher the gold content the higher the fertility levels.

"Whatever amount of gold is detected denotes the levels in seminal plasma as well as the sperm itself," according to Dr Anurag Rai, one of the researchers. The presence of gold in sperm supports the ancient Ayurvedic texts which link male fertility with gold (swarna bhasma), though a thorough scientific documentation of gold in male infertility is yet to be made.

Gold was found in all the semen samples collected for the study. "The presence of gold in the body is thought to be a contaminant from environmental elements like sea water and total human body content of gold is calculated to be 0.1 mg. Gold has been claimed in Ayurvedic texts to have beneficial effect on testicular function and sperm," Dr Rai said.