Table 1.
Effect of dietary antioxidant supplements on sperm DNA integrity
| Study | Patients/test | Treatment(s) | n | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infertile men with high sperm DNA fragmentation levels | ||||
| Greco (47) | 1 failed ICSI | vits C 1 g, E 1 g | 38 | Rx (2 months): ↓DD in 76%, 48% ICSI pregnancy |
| TUNEL > 15% | No control group. | |||
| Greco (48) | Infertility | vits C 1 g, E 1 g | 32 | Rx (2 months):↓ DD(22%→9%) |
| TUNEL > 15% | 32 | Placebo group: no effect on DD (22% → 22%) | ||
| Menezo (49) | 2 failed ICSI | vits C, E (400 mg) | 57 | Rx (90 days):↓ sperm %DFI (32 → 26%: by 19%) |
| DFI > 15% | Zinc, Se, | but ↑ sperm %HDS (17.5→25.5%: by 23%) | ||
| Decond > 15% | ß-carotene | No control group. | ||
| Tremellen (50) | Male Infert | Menevit (lycopene, vits C, E, Zinc, Se, folate, garlic) |
36 | Rx (3 months): 39% ICSI pregnancy rate, |
| TUNEL > 25% | But no ↑ in embryo quality, no post-Rx DD | |||
| 16 | Placebo group: 16% ICSI pregnancy rate | |||
| Gil Villa (51) | Pregn. loss | vits C, E | 9 | Rx (3 months): 6 (of 9) couples got pregnancy |
| ↑LPO or DFI | zinc, ß-carotene | No control group. | ||
| Infertile men (not selected on basis of DNA fragmentation) | ||||
| Piomboni (52) | Asthenosp. | vits C, E, ß-glucan | 36 | Rx (90 days): ↑motility & morph but not DD |
| AO stain | papaya, lactoferrin | 15 | Control group: no effect | |
| Kodama (19) | Male infert | Vit C, E (200 mg) | 14 | Rx (2 months):↓ in 8-OHdG (1.5 → 1.1/105 dG) |
| 8-OHdG | glutathione (400 mg) | 7 | Control group: no change in 8-OHdG levels | |
8-OHdG 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; AO acridine orange; DD DNA damage; Decond decondensation; DFI DNA fragmentation index; LPO lipid peroxidation; Rx Treatment; Se selenium; TUNEL terminal nucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling; vit vitamin