New study debunks earlier findings that anti-oxidants have a positive effect on abnormal sperm parameters associated with male infertility
Increasing your intake of vegetables and fruits in the hope of getting enough anti-oxidants will do nothing for your fertility after all.
Despite many study results suggesting that antioxidants have a positive effect on abnormal sperm parameters associated with male infertility, a large US clinical trial of 174 couples has found that it actually made no difference to sperm concentration, motility or morphology. During the study the male partner took an anti-oxidant medication for a minimum of three months.
Results of the study, which was performed in eight American fertility centres with the support of the National Institutes of Health, were presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of ESHRE. Anti-oxidants are present in many fruits and vegetables such as carrots, green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits. They are known to delay cell damage.
Anti-oxidants are present in many fruits and vegetables such as carrots, green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits. They are known to delay cell damage
All men in the study had been diagnosed with male factor infertility, reflected in sub-normal levels of sperm concentration, motility, or morphology, or higher than normal rates of DNA fragmentation. These sperm parameters were measured at the start of the trial and at three months. In between, the men allocated to the antioxidant intervention were given a daily supplement (in tablet form) containing vitamins C, D3 and E, folic acid, zinc, selenium and L-carnitine; the control group received a placebo.
At three months, results showed only a “slight” overall difference in sperm concentration between the two groups, and no significant differences in morphology, motility, or DNA fragmentation measurements.
A further endpoint of the trial was natural conception during the initial three month study period, but this too did not differ between the two groups of the entire cohort – a pregnancy rate of 10.5% in the antioxidant group and 9.1% in the placebo. These rates were also comparable at six months (after continued antioxidant or placebo for the male partner and three cycles of clomiphene and intrauterine insemination for the female partner).
As background to the trial, the authors explain that many of the previous studies in which antioxidants have been linked to improvements in sperm quality have been limited by small numbers, heterogeneity in patients, variety of antioxidant, and non-clinical endpoints. This study, therefore, was designed to close these gaps in knowledge and provide a stronger evidence base.
