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Table 1 Study outcomes involving in vitro supplementation of various antioxidants during ART protocol

From: Utility of antioxidants during assisted reproductive techniques: an evidence based review

Antioxidant

Study type

Patient population

Intervention (therapeutic approach)

Control group (daily dose)

Outcome/effect of intervention/effect on parameters

Reference

Vitamin E

Prospective

Sperm from normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic men

5 mM vitamin E added to cryoprotective media prior to freeze-thaw procedure

 

1. Improvement in post-thaw motility

Kalthur et al. [57]

2. Improvement in DNA integrity

Vitamin E

Prospective

Sperm from normozoospermic men and men with abnormal sperm parameters

100 μmol or 200 μmol vitamin E added to cryopreservation media

 

Improved post-thaw motility of cryopreserved sperm from men with both normal and abnormal sperm parameters

Taylor et al. [58]

Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)

Prospective

Sperm from teratozoospermic men (n = 15)

Sperm prepared by swim up incubated with 40 μmol alpha-tocopherol added to media x 1 hour

 

1. Improved sperm motility

Keshtgar et al. [59]

2. Increased sperm viability

Vitamin C

Prospective

Sperm from male volunteers with teratozoospermia (n = 15)

Sperm prepared by swim up incubated with 600 μmol vitamin C added to media x 1 hour

 

1. Reduced MDA levels

Fanaei et al. 2014 [60]

2. Reduced DNA damage

3. Improved sperm progressive motility

4. Improved sperm viability

Vitamin C

Prospective

DNA damaged sperm from infertile men

10 mM ascorbic acid added to semen sample prior to adding cryomedia

Unsupplemented cryomedium

1. No change in post-thaw sperm concentration or morphology

Branco et al. [61]

2. Reduced number of sperm with cryopreservation-induced DNA damage in infertile men

Vitamin C

Prospective

Sperm from patients undergoing semen analysis (n = 134)

Supplementation of cryomedium with ascorbate or 100 μmol/L AA2G (ascorbic acid-2-glucoside) (stabilized form of ascorbate)

Unsupplemented cryomedium

Improved post-thaw sperm motility

Jenkins et al. [62]

Coenzyme Q 10

Prospective

Sperm from asthenozoospermic men (n = 22)

HAM’s medium alone, HAM’s medium +1% DMSO, HAM’s medium +5 μM CoQ10 or 50 μM CoQ10 x 24 hours

Samples with normal motility sperm (n = 16)

50 μM CoQ10 increased sperm motility of asthenozoopsermic men in vitro

Lewin & Lavon [63]

Melatonin

Experimental

Sperm from both healthy and infertile men (n = 12)

Sperm co-incubated with 1 mM melatonin x 30 minutes

No treatment

1. Increased percentage of motile and progressively motile cells

Ortiz et al. [64]

2. Increased sperm vitality and sperm with normal morphology

Melatonin

Experimental

Sperm from healthy men (n = 12)

Sperm co-incubated with 2 mM melatonin x 120 minutes

No treatment

1. Higher percentage of motility and progressive motility

du Plessis et al. [65]

2. Increased sperm viability

L-Carnitine

Experimental

Peritoneal fluid from women with endometriosis

Frozen metaphase II mouse oocytes and embryos in peritoneal fluid (from endometriosis patients) incubated with 0.6 mg/mL L-Carnitine

Peritoneal fluid (from endometriosis patients) only, peritoneal fluid (from tubal ligation patients as control) only, human tubal fluid only, L-carnitine only

1. Improved microtubule and chromosome structure in oocyte

Mansour et al. [66]

2. Decreased level of embryo apoptosis

L-Carnitine

Experimental

Embryo

0.3 mg/mL or 0.6 mg/mL L-Carnitine

Embryo culture medium without supplementation

1. Improved percentage of blastocyst development rate with 0.3 mg/mL L-carnitine

Abdelrazik et al. [67]

2. Both 0.3 mg/mL and 0.6 mg/mL L-carnitine reduced the blocking effect of actinomycin-D, hydrogen peroxide or tumor necrosis factor alpha and reduced the level of DNA damage