Antioxidants do not improve sperm quality in infertile men, finds study

A large clinical trial conducted in the U.S. has shown that daily antioxidant supplementation among men with infertility does not make a difference to the quality of their sperm.

Image Credit: Supitcha McAdam / Shutterstock

Although previous studies have suggested that taking antioxidants improves abnormal sperm parameters, the current study showed daily antioxidant supplementation among infertile males over three months did not improve sperm concentration, motility or morphology, nor the rate of DNA fragmentation.

The authors say that much of the research where antioxidants have been associated with improved sperm quality has been limited by small study groups, patient heterogeneity, variation in the antioxidants tested, and non-clinical endpoints.

The current trial, which is being presented today at the 34th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology was designed to address these limitations and provide a stronger evidence base.

According to Professor Anne Steiner (University of North Carolina) who is presenting the findings, this randomised controlled trial is one of the largest of its kind and has a "well characterised" study population involving 174 couples across eight fertility centers in America.

All male partners included in the trial had been diagnosed with male factor infertility and had abnormal sperm parameters including sub-normal sperm levels, motility, or morphology, or increased DNA fragmentation.

These parameters were measured at the beginning of the study and at three months, after one group of men had received daily supplementation with vitamins C, D3 and E, zinc, selenium, folic acid and L-carnitine and another group had received a placebo.

The researchers observed only a slight overall difference in sperm concentration between the two groups and no significant differences in measurements of sperm morphology, motility or DNA fragmentation.

A further clinical endpoint of the trial was natural conception during the three-month study period. However, no significant difference between the two groups was seen for this endpoint either.

Based on these findings, Steiner and team conclude that "the results do not support the empiric use of antioxidant therapy for male factor infertility in couples trying to conceive naturally."

Sally Robertson

Written by

Sally Robertson

Sally first developed an interest in medical communications when she took on the role of Journal Development Editor for BioMed Central (BMC), after having graduated with a degree in biomedical science from Greenwich University.

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Comments

  1. FEMELIFE FERTILITY FEMELIFE FERTILITY India says:

    Oxidative stress is a common pathology seen in approximately half of all infertile men. Oxidants generated by sperm and seminal leukocytes within semen  produce infertility by two key mechanisms. First, they damage the sperm membrane, decreasing sperm motility and its ability to fuse with the oocyte. Second, ROS can alter the sperm DNA, resulting in the passage of defective paternal DNA on to the conceptus.

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
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