Table 1.

Summary of studies that assessed supplementation of magnesium, zinc, selenium, and chromium in women with PCOS phenotype ¹.

Reference (Author/s and Year)	Study Design	Mineral, Dosage, Duration, and Intervention	Outcome Measurement	Findings	Conclusions
[16]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	250 mg/d Mg oxide 8 wk n = 60	BMI WC Glycemic markers Lipid profile Androgens	↑BMI ↑WC No change in glycemic or lipid markers ↓Testosterone	Mg supplementation decreased BMI and androgens. Mg supplementation did not have an effect on glycemic and lipid markers
[17]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	250 mg/d Mg oxide &220 mg zinc sulfate (50 mg zn) 12 wk n = 60	hs-CRP TAC Gene expression	↓hs-CRP ↓Gene expression of TNF-α and IL-1 ↓TAC	Mg and Zn co-supplementation improved TAC and reduced inflammation
[28]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	220 mg/d Zn sulfate (50 mg Zn) 8 wk n = 52 Age 18–40 y	FBG Serum insulin HOMA-IR HOMA-B Lipid profile	↓FBG ↓Serum insulin ↓HOMA-IR and HOMA-B ↓Serum triglycerides ↓VLDL cholesterol	Zn supplementation improved several metabolic markers
[29]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	220 mg/d Zn sulfate (50 mg Zn) 8 wk n = 48 Age 18–40 y	Alopecia Hirsutism Malondialdehyde hs-CRP Androgens Cytokines	↓Alopecia ↓Hirsutism ↓Malondialdehyde No effect on androgens or Cytokines	Zn supplementation improved clinical symptoms and TAC
[34]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	220 µg/d Se 12 wk n = 66 Age 18–45 y	ADMA Glycemic profile Lipid profile Testosterone SHBG	↓Testosterone ↓Apo-B100/Apo-A1 ↓ADMA No effect on serum lipids, FBG, or SHBG	Se supplementation decreased androgens and had no effect on lipid profile
[36]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	200 µg/d Se 8 wk n = 70 Age 18–40 y	Serum insulin FBG HOMA-IR HOMA-B Lipid profile	↓Serum insulin ↓HOMA-IR ↓HOMA-B ↑Insulin sensitivity ↓Serum triglycerides ↓VLDL cholesterol	Se supplementation improved insulin sensitivity and lowered serum lipids but had no effect on FBG
[45]	Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study	200 µg/d Cr 8 wk n = 40 Age 18–40 y	FBG Serum insulin HOMA-IR Lipid profile TAC Malondialdehyde	↓FBG ↓Serum insulin ↓HOMA-IR ↓Serum triglycerides ↓Total cholesterol ↓TAC ↓Malondialdehyde	Cr supplementation had a beneficial impact on glycemic control and lipid profile in infertile PCOS women

¹ Abbreviations: ADMA, asymmetric dimethylarginine; BMI, body mass index; Cr, chromium; FBG, fasting plasma blood glues; HOMA-B; homeostatic model assessment for β-cell function; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment for insulin-resistant; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; IL-1, interleukin-1; Mg, magnesium; PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome; Se, selenium; SHBG, sex hormone-binding globulin; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; VLDL, very-low-density-lipoprotein; WC, waist circumference; Zn, zinc. ² ↑ represents a significant increase in the concentration of that biomarker; ↓ represents a significant decrease in the concentration of that biomarker.