Redox Balance in Male Infertility: Excellence through Moderation—“Μέτρον ἄριστον”
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Search Strategy
3. Redox Balance Implies Moderation-“μέτρον”
4. Antioxidant Treatment for Male Infertility—Friend or Foe?
5. Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP)—A Reliable Guarantor for Redox Balance?
6. Conclusions, Future Directions, and Perspectives
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Type | Number | References |
---|---|---|
Reviews | 43 | [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,13,15,17,19,21,22,23,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,46,47,48,49,68,84,86,87,88] |
Original Research | 33 | [9,10,11,12,14,18,20,24,34,45,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,63,64,65,66,67,69,70,71,72,79,85] |
Systematic Review | 7 | [62,73,75,77,78,81,82] |
Systematic Review and Meta-analyses | 4 | [74,76,80,83] |
Letter to the editor | 1 | [16] |
Editorial | 1 | [89] |
Total | 89 | |
Hand-searched/Reference list checked | 29 | [9,10,27,28,31,34,42,47,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,58,59,60,61,63,64,65,66,67,69,70,81,82,87] |
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Author, Year | Examined Antioxidant Compound | Results |
---|---|---|
Balercia et al., 2005 [50] | LC, LAC, and a combination of LC and LAC | Sperm kinetic parameters improvement |
Total seminal antioxidant capacity increase and positive correlation with kinetic features improvement | ||
Balercia et al., 2009 [51] | CoQ10 | Sperm cell total motility and forward motility improvement |
Twice as many spontaneous pregnancies during the observation period | ||
Busetto et al., 2018 [53] | LC, LAC, fructose, fumarate, vitamin C, citric acid, zinc, CoQ10, Se, folic acid, and vitamin B12 | Significant increase in sperm concentration, total sperm count, progressive, and total motility |
10 out of 12 pregnancies during the follow-up favored the supplementation arm, although the pregnancy rate was not a study endpoint | ||
Micic et al., 2019 [54] | LC, LAC, fructose, fumarate, vitamin C, citric acid, zinc, CoQ10, selenium, folic acid, and vitamin B12 | Significant increases in sperm volume, progressive motility, and vitality after six months of therapy. |
Significant decline in sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) compared with baseline and 3-month therapy | ||
Decreased levels of DFI represented a reliable predictor of progressive sperm motility >10% | ||
Positive correlation of elevated levels of seminal carnitine and α-glycosidase with improved progressive motility | ||
Safarinejad et al., 2012 [55] | Ubiquinol—Reduced form of CoQ10 | Significant increases in sperm density, motility, and morphology |
Haghighian et al., 2015 [56] | Alpha-lipoic acid | Significant increases in total sperm count, sperm concentration, and sperm motility |
Potential to significantly improve total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels | ||
Calogero et al., 2015 [57] | Myoinositol | Significant increase in the percentage of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa, sperm concentration, total count, and progressive motility |
Rebalance in serum luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and inhibin B concentrations | ||
Tremellen et al., 2007 [52] | Vitamins C and E, Se, garlic, lycopene, zinc, and folic acid | Significant improvement in viable pregnancy rates |
No significant changes in oocyte fertilisation rate or embryo quality | ||
Steiner et al., 2020 [72] | Vitamin C, vitamin E, Se, LC, zinc, folic acid, and lycopene | No significant improvements on sperm morphology, motility, or DNA fragmentation |
No improvement on in vivo pregnancy or live birth rates | ||
Sigman et al., 2006 [66] | LC and LAC | No statistically or clinically significant increase in sperm motility and total motile sperm counts at sequential treatment time points |
Rolf et al., 1999 [63] | Vitamin C and E | No specific improvement on conventional sperm parameters, 24 h sperm survival rate, or pregnancy initiation |
Greco et al. 2005 [64] | Vitamin C and E | No significant improvement on sperm concentration, count, motility, and morphology |
Significant decline in DNA-fragmented spermatozoa | ||
Silver et al. 2005 [65] | Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene | Moderate, but not high beta-carotene intake increased standard deviation of DNA fragmentation index (SD DFI), as well as the percentage of immature sperm, compared with low intake |
Hawkes et al., 2001 [70] | Se | Overdosing of Se may alter the sperm selenoprotein(s) of the outer mitochondrial membrane and alter the thyroid hormone metabolism both conditions associated with asthenospermia and impaired fertility |
Ménézo et al., 2007 [67] | Vitamins C and E, β-carotene, zinc, and Se | Decrease in sperm DNA fragmentation |
Increase in sperm decondensation | ||
Bleau et al. 1984 [69] | Se | Se level between approximately 40 and 70 ng/mL was optimal for reproductive performance (high pregnancy rate and low abortion rate) |
Sperm motility was maximal at semen Se levels ranging between 50 and 69 ng/mL | ||
Se levels ≤35 ng/mL were associated with male infertility | ||
Se levels ≥80 ng/mL were associated with a high abortion rate and signs of ovarian dysfunction in the partner |
Direct and Indirect Techniques to Measure OS in the Seminal Plasma | |
---|---|
Direct | Indirect |
Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) | Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) |
ROS by chemiluminescence | ROS-TAC |
Nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) | Malondialdehyde (MDA) |
Cytochrome C reduction test | Myeloperoxidase or Endtz test |
Fluorescein probe | Lipid peroxidation levels |
Oxidation-induced fluorochrome probe | Chemokines |
Electron spin resonance | Ascorbate |
DNA fragmentation |
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Symeonidis, E.N.; Evgeni, E.; Palapelas, V.; Koumasi, D.; Pyrgidis, N.; Sokolakis, I.; Hatzichristodoulou, G.; Tsiampali, C.; Mykoniatis, I.; Zachariou, A.; et al. Redox Balance in Male Infertility: Excellence through Moderation—“Μέτρον ἄριστον”. Antioxidants 2021, 10, 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10101534
Symeonidis EN, Evgeni E, Palapelas V, Koumasi D, Pyrgidis N, Sokolakis I, Hatzichristodoulou G, Tsiampali C, Mykoniatis I, Zachariou A, et al. Redox Balance in Male Infertility: Excellence through Moderation—“Μέτρον ἄριστον”. Antioxidants. 2021; 10(10):1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10101534
Chicago/Turabian StyleSymeonidis, Evangelos N., Evangelini Evgeni, Vasileios Palapelas, Dimitra Koumasi, Nikolaos Pyrgidis, Ioannis Sokolakis, Georgios Hatzichristodoulou, Chara Tsiampali, Ioannis Mykoniatis, Athanasios Zachariou, and et al. 2021. "Redox Balance in Male Infertility: Excellence through Moderation—“Μέτρον ἄριστον”" Antioxidants 10, no. 10: 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10101534