Abstract

There are increasing indications that nutritional factors play a significant role in reproduction. Of crucial interest is the homocysteine pathway in which several nutrients are involved. Also, the essential role of homocysteine metabolism in fertility cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, the focus of this study is on Homocysteine levels of infertile female subjects in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. Total numbers of 100 patients between the ages of 18 to 45 years were included, with 50 patients in case and 50 patients in control groups. Competitive Enzyme Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the estimation of homocysteine levels in the study subjects. The hormonal parameters analyzed and compared to the homocysteine levels include Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin (PRL), Progesterone (P4), and Estradiol (E4). The homocysteine levels (p ≤ 0.05) of infertile female patients revealed non-significant increased value (19.2±6.55µmol/ml) when compared to the control (14.0±5.31µmol/ml). FSH and homocysteine showed a significant negative association (r = -0.409, p ≤ 0.05) among the test group while no correlation was seen between FSH and homocysteine in the control group (r = 0.082, p ≤ 0.05). There was a positive association between homocysteine and LH in the test group (r =0.315, p ≤ 0.05) and a weak negative association between homocysteine and LH in the control group (r = -0.254. p ≤ 0.05). Progesterone (P4) did not show correlation with homocysteine among the test group (r = 0.016, p ≤ 0.05) while the control group showed a strong negative association (r = -0.679, p ≤ 0.05).