Cochrane: Antioxidants don’t increase female fertility

By Shane STARLING

- Last updated on GMT

Cochrane: Antioxidants don’t increase female fertility

Related tags Antioxidant

A review of antioxidant research has concluded that antioxidants don’t improve the chances of women becoming pregnant.

The respected Cochrane Library conducted the review of 28 trials involving a total of 3,548 women and concluded antioxidant-consuming women fared no better than those on standard treatments or placebo when it came to fertility improvements.

“There is no evidence in this review that suggests taking an antioxidant is beneficial for women who are trying to conceive,”​ said lead researcher, Marian Showell, from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

They said the quality of the trials was either ‘low’ or ‘very low’ and the review results confounded somewhat by the number of different antioxidants used in the experiments.

“We could not assess whether one antioxidant was better than another,”​ said Showell.

It is estimated about 40-50% of couples seeking children experience fertility difficulties that could be attributed to women.

Typical problems include ovulatory disorders, poor egg quality, fallopian tube damage and endometriosis.

Some research has shown antioxidants can reduce the oxidative stress brought on by these conditions.

14 of the trials reported on adverse effects such as miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

Source:

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

2013, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD007807. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007807

‘Antioxidants for female subfertility’

Authors: Showell MG, Brown J, Clarke J, Hart RJ. 

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1 comment

Antioxidant

Posted by james,

Not just any Antioxidant would mop up the infertility causing free radicals or reactive oxygen species generated by the cilia or by the Follicles as they mature within the ovary. The utilized Antioxidant must possess the capacity to deal with the predominant ROS groups that lead to demobilization of the Fallopian tube cilia. And you must realize that one needs a variety of antioxidants to deal with the over 10 to 15,000 different molecules of FORs and ROSs that are generated daily from a normal diet. In Lagos Nigeria, we have used Jobelyn, a sorghum bicolor dietary supplement with huge Antioxidant capacity alongside pro and anti-inflammatory properties to improve infertility in females.

James

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