Review Supports Antioxidants for Fertility and Sperm Quality
Lee Swanson Research Update
Evidence from randomized controlled trials was found to support a link between antioxidant supplementation and improvements in male fertility linked to sperm quality, according to the review published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online.
Reviewers led by Tarek El-Toukhy from London’s Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust note however that the evidence is not consistent and more studies are therefore required before antioxidant supplements can be recommended to infertile men.
"It is imperative these studies employ strict inclusion and exclusion criteria and standardized methodology to help understand whether a specific group of infertile men is more likely to benefit from antioxidant therapy," they stated.
The link between antioxidants and fertility measures is not new. Oxidative stress, caused by a disruption to the balance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants, has been reported to reduce the quality of sperm. According to Dr. El-Toukhy and his co-workers, about 15% of couples of reproductive age are affected by infertility issues, with 50% of these cases related to impaired semen.
In order to elucidate if antioxidant supplements may benefit infertility measures, the researchers conducted a systematic review of the literature. They found 17 randomized clinical trials involving vitamins C and E, zinc, selenium, folate, carnitine and carotenoids in relation to sperm quality and pregnancy rates.
Data was available for 1,665 men from 17 trials. Results showed that antioxidant supplementation associated with 75% of the trials showed an "improvement in at least one sperm parameter compared with placebo or no treatment." Moreover, 63% of the studies showed significant improvements in sperm motility compared with placebo, while only 33% of trials showed an improvement in sperm concentration.
Regarding pregnancy rates, the London-based reviewers report that antioxidant supplementation was associated with a higher pregnancy rate of 19%, compared with only three percent in placebo/control groups.
"This review shows that oral antioxidant therapy was associated with a significant improvement in spontaneous and assisted conception pregnancy rates in six of the 10 randomized studies identified in the database search," wrote the researchers.
"This finding could possibly be explained, at least in part, by the antioxidant-related improvement in either sperm motility and total motile sperm count—both of which have been reported to predict male fertility—or sperm DNA integrity," they added.
Reproductive BioMedicine Online 20:711-723, 2010
- Company
- Contact Us
- About Us
- Help Desk
- Job Opportunities
- Guarantees
- Policies
- What's New
- Newsroom
- Security
- Mobile Site
Oct. 2010