The status of ascorbic acid in follicular fluid of non-PCOS women during

Follicular fluid (FF) serves as a natural ‘culture medium’ for the maturation of both granulosa cells and oocytes. Ascorbic Acid (AA) known to maintain reproductive integrity and reported to either accumulate in the follicular fluid or other ovarian cells. A relatively higher bioavailability of AA within the graafian follicle as compared to serum suggests importance of AA in the graafian follicle biology. As a pre-eminent water soluble antioxidant, this molecule has also been reported to provide protection of oocyte and granulosa cells against cellular injuries but earlier studies were limited with exogenous supplementation. The present study evaluated the significance of endogenous FF-ascorbic acid in aromatization and pregnancy outcome in non-PCOS women undergoing IVF-ET treatment cycles. The positive correlationship of FF-AA with clinical pregnancy rate observed in thisstudy clearly denotes the importance of maintaining the antioxidant status within the microenvironment in order to achieve pregnancy. The present study has attempted to establish for the first time a successful correlationship between endogenous FF-AA levels with pregnancy outcome as against the exogenous supplementation theory and also aided to determine the critical requirement of AA within the follicular milieu for achieving the objective