Table 2.
Coenzyme Q10 and male fertility (mixed compounds), characteristics of suitable studies.
| Author(s) | Design | Sample Size | Age | Target Population | Antioxidant | Consumption | Length of Follow-up | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busetto et al., 2012 [10] | Open, uncontrolled | 114 | 31 (21–46) | iOAT | CoQ10 20 mg L-carnitine 145 mg Acetyl-L-carnitine 64 mg Fructose 250 mg Citric acid 50 mg Selenium 50 mcg Zinc 10 mg Ascorbic acid 90 mg Cyanocobalamin 1.5 mcg Folic acid 200 mcg |
Once daily orally | 4 months | Increase in progressive sperm motility (p < 0.05). |
| Abad et al., 2013 [11] | Open, uncontrolled | 20 | - | Asthenoteratozoospermia | CoQ10 20 mg L-carinitine 1500 mg vitamin C 60 mg vitamin E 10 mg vitamin B9 200 mcg vitamin B12 1 mcg Zinc 10 mg selenium 50 mcg |
- | 3 months | Slight increase in sperm density (p = 0.042) and normal morphology (p = 0.04), pronounced increase in A motility, A + B motility and vitality (p < 0.05) after antioxidant treatment. Improvement in DNA integrity and reduction in proportion of highly DNA degraded sperm (p = 0.04). |
| Kobori et al., 2014 [24] | Open, uncontrolled | 169 | 36 (25–58) | iOAT | CoQ10 120 mg Vitamin C 80 mg Vitamin E 40 mg |
Twice daily orally | 6 months | Increase in sperm concentration and sperm motility at 3 and 6 months of treatment (p < 0.05). |
| Tirabassi et al., 2015 [25] | Open, uncontrolled | 20 | 32 | Idiopathic asthenozoospermia | CoQ10 200 mg Aspartic acid 2660 mg |
Once daily orally | 3 months | Q10 and aspartic acid administration improved sperm kinetics, antioxidant defenses (SOD activity) and reduced nitric oxide-related oxidant species and oxidative DNA damage (p < 0.05). |
| Gvozdjáková et al., 2015 [26] | Open, uncontrolled | 40 | 28–40 | Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia | Ubiquinol 30 mg L-carnitine 440 mg Vitamin E 75 IU Vitamin C 12 mg |
Twice daily during the first 3 months; once daily during the next 3 months | 6 months | Increase in sperm density (p < 0.001). Increase in seminal CoQ10 and α-tocopherol levels and decrease in oxidative stress markers (p < 0.05). |
| Lipovac et al., 2016 [27] | Open, uncontrolled | 299 | 20–60 | Infertile men with al least one pathologic sperm analysis | Carnitine 1000 mg/day versus CoQ10 15 mg Carnitine 440 mg Arginine 250 mg Zinc 40 mg Vitamin E 120 mg Glutathione 80 mg Selenium 60 mcg |
Twice daily (mono-substance) versus once daily (combination) | 3 months | Improvement of all sperm parameters in both groups (p < 0.05), but higher relative changes in sperm density and progressive motility for the combined micronutrient treatment group. |
| Stenqvist et al., 2018 [12] | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled | 77 | 38 | Infertile men with elevated DNA fragmentation index | CoQ10 10 mg Folic acid 100 mcg Vitamin C 30 mg Vitamin E 5 mg Vitamin B12 0.5 mcg Carnitine 750 mg Zinc 5 mg Selenium 25 mcg |
Twice daily orally | 6 months | Higher sperm density compared to baseline in the treatment group after antioxidant supplementation (p = 0.028). No differences in DNA fragmentation index in any group and between groups after treatment. |
| Terai et al. 2020 [28] | Prospective, randomized | 31 | 38 | Oligozoospermia and/or asthenozoospermia | CoQ10 90 mg L-Carnitine 750 mg Zinc 30 mg Astaxanthin16 mg Vitamin C 1000 mg |
Three times per day | 3 months | Increase in total sperm count in the supplement group after treatment (p = 0.04). |
| Arafa et al., 2020 [29] | Open, uncontrolled | 148 | 36 (31–41) | Idiopathic male infertility and unexplained male infertility | Coq10 200 mg Vitamin A 5000 IU Vitamin C 120 mg Vitamin D3: 1200 IU Vitamin E 200 IU Vitamin K 80 µg Thiamin 3 mg Riboflavin 3.4 mg Niacin 20 mg Vitamin B6 25 mg Folate 800 µg Vitamin B12 1000 µg Biotin 600 µg Zinc 30 mg Selenium 140 µg Copper 1 mg Manganese 2 mg Chromium 120 µg L-carnitine tartrate 2000 mg L-arginine 350 mg N-acetyl l-cysteine 200 mg Lycopene 10 mg Benfotiamine 1 mg |
Three capsules twice a day orally | 3 months | In the idiopathic infertility group, supplementation showed a significant decrease in seminal ORP and SDF levels (p < 0.05). Sperm analysis revealed an improvement in all parameters investigated (p < 0.05), except for semen volume and sperm viability. Changes were also more evident in both the sub-categories of high ORP and high SDF. ORP levels significantly decreased in all the subjects with idiopathic infertility and in both the sub-categories of high ORP and high SDF levels (p < 0.05). In the unexplained male infertility group, only progressive motility significantly improved after treatment (p < 0.05). ORP levels decreased after treatment (p < 0.05). |
| Sadaghiani et al., 2020 [30] | Prospective, single-blinded | 50 | 32 | Astheno/oligozoospermia and cigarette smoking | CoQ10 30 mg * Zinc 8 mg * Vitamin C 100 mg * Vitamin E 12 mg * Folic acid 400 μg * Selenium 200 mg ** |
* Once daily ** Every other day |
3 months | Increase in seminal volume (p = 0.032), sperm count (p = 0.001), sperm motility (total and progressive) (p = 0.001) and normal morphology (p = 0.003) after treatment. |
| Kopets et al., 2020 [31] | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled | 83 | 33 | Idiopathic male infertility | Co Q10 40 Mg L-Carnitine/L-Acetyl-Carnitine 1990 Mg, L-Arginine 250 Mg Glutathione 100 Mg Zinc 7,5 Mg Vitamin B9 234 Mcg Vitamin B12 2 Mcg Selenium 50 Mcg |
Once daily orally | 6 months | Improvement in sperm parameters (sperm density, sperm motility and sperm morphology) (p < 0.001) and increase in pregnancy rate at 4 months (p = 0.017) in the treatment group. |
| Nazari et al., 2021 [32] | Open, uncontrolled | 180 | 36 (26–40) | iOAT | Coq10 20 Mg L-Carnitine 1500 Mg Vitamin C 60 Mg Vitamin E 10 Mg Zinc 10 Mg Vitamin B9 200 µg Selenium 50 µg Vitamin B12 1 µg |
Twice daily orally | 3 months | Increase in sperm density (p = 0.004) and morphology (p = 0.01), but not in sperm motility |
CoQ10 = coenzyme Q10; iOAT = idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia; SOD = superoxide dismutase.