SynthesisNutrients2020
Dietary Supplements for Male Infertility: A Critical Evaluation of Their Composition.
Synthesis in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Systematic Review and Critical Analysis on Dietary Supplements for Male Infertility: From a Blend of Ingredients to a Rationale Strategy.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Male Infertility: A Comprehensive Review of Urological Causes and Contemporary Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- The Use of Whey Powder to Improve Bread Quality: A Sustainable Solution for Utilizing Dairy By-Products.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring the impact of lipid stress on sperm cytoskeleton: insights and prospects.Nature reviews. Urology · 2025Review
- The Role of One-Carbon Metabolism and Methyl Donors in Medically Assisted Reproduction: A Narrative Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- A Dietary Supplement Jinghuosu Ameliorates Reproductive Damage Induced by Tripterygium Glycosides.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Article
- Male infertility.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023Review
- A Multi-Ingredient Supplement Protects against Obesity and Infertility in Western Diet-Fed Mice.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Male Attitudes towards Infertility: Results from a Global Questionnaire.The world journal of men's health · 2023Article
- An Overview of Essential Microelements and Common Metallic Nanoparticles and Their Effects on Male Fertility.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Positive Effect of a New Combination of Antioxidants and Natural Hormone Stimulants for the Treatment of Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Immunonutrients involved in the regulation of the inflammatory and oxidative processes: implication for gamete competence.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2022Review
- The relevance of sperm morphology in male infertility.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2022Article
- Use of nutraceuticals in the stallion: Effects on semen quality and preservation.Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene · 2021Review
- Dietary Antioxidants in the Treatment of Male Infertility: Counteracting Oxidative Stress.Biology · 2021Review
- Antioxidant Vitamins and Carotenoids Intake and the Association With Poor Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Men Referring to an Italian Fertility Clinic.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dietary supplements (DS) represent a possible approach to improve sperm parameters and male fertility. A wide range of DS containing different nutrients is now available. Although many authors demonstrated benefits from some nutrients in the improvement of sperm parameters, their real effectiveness is still under debate. The aim of this study was to critically review the composition of DS using the Italian market as a sample. Active ingredients and their minimal effective daily dose (mED) on sperm parameters were identified through a literature search. Thereafter, we created a formula to classify the expected efficacy of each DS. Considering active ingredients, their concentration and the recommended daily dose, DS were scored into three classes of expected efficacy: higher, lower and none. Twenty-one DS were identified. Most of them had a large number of ingredients, frequently at doses below mED or with undemonstrated efficacy. Zinc was the most common ingredient of DS (70% of products), followed by selenium, arginine, coenzyme Q and folic acid. By applying our scoring system, 9.5% of DS fell in a higher class, 71.4% in a lower class and 19.1% in the class with no expected efficacy. DS marketed in Italy for male infertility frequently includes effective ingredients but also a large number of substances at insufficient doses or with no reported efficacy. Manufacturers and physicians should better consider the scientific evidence on effective ingredients and their doses before formulating and prescribing these products.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.