Trial reportJournal of assisted reproduction and genetics2021
The relationship of plasma antioxidant levels to semen parameters: the Males, Antioxidants, and Infertility (MOXI) randomized clinical trial.
Trial report in Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the Impact of Antioxidant Supplementation on Male Infertility: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Immunological mechanisms and precision stratification in male infertility: from testicular immune privilege and danger signal amplification to seminal immune biomarkers and mechanism-tailored intervention.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The aging male: impact of aging on male reproduction.Biogerontology · 2025Review
- Sperm DNA Fragmentation and Fertility.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Empirical Treatments for Male Infertility: A Focus on Lifestyle Modifications and Medicines.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The Role of Thyroid Hormones, Vitamins, and Microelements in Female Infertility.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2023Article
- On Males, Antioxidants and Infertility (MOXI): Certitudes, Uncertainties and Trends.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- COVID-19 and Male Infertility: Is There a Role for Antioxidants?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Sperm DNA Damage and Its Relevance in Fertility Treatment: A Review of Recent Literature and Current Practice Guidelines.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Recurrent miscarriage and male factor infertility: diagnostic and therapeutic implications. A narrative review.Central European journal of urology · 2023Review
- Studies on improving semen quality and increasing pregnancy chances through the in vitro addition of L-carnitine and coenzyme Q10 to semen in patients with asthenozoospermia.Basic and clinical andrology · 2022Article
- Sperm DNA fragmentation testing in clinical management of reproductive medicine.Reproductive medicine and biologyReview
- Assessment of Seminal Lactoferrin Levels in Oligoasthenoterato-zoospermic Men with Varicocele.Journal of reproduction & infertilityArticle
- Redox Imbalance in Male Infertility: From Empirical Antioxidant Therapy to Precision Medicine and Epigenetic Insights.Reproductive medicine and biologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 13 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe understanding of the role of plasma antioxidant levels in male fertility in the USA is limited. In a secondary analysis of the Males, Antioxidants, and Infertility (MOXI) randomized clinical trial, we sought to determine whether serum levels of vitamin E (α-tocopherol), zinc, and selenium were correlated with semen parameters and couple fertility outcomes.
methodsThis study is a secondary analysis of the MOXI clinical trial. The primary endpoints in this secondary analysis include semen parameters, and DNA fragmentation and clinical outcomes including pregnancy and live birth. Analyses were completed using Wilcoxon's rank-sum test and linear regression models.
resultsAt baseline, the analysis included plasma labs for vitamin E (n = 131), selenium (n = 124), and zinc (n = 128). All baseline plasma values were in the normal ranges. There was no association between selenium, zinc, or vitamin E levels and semen parameters or DNA fragmentation. Baseline antioxidant levels in the male partners did not predict pregnancy or live birth among all couples. Among those randomized to placebo, baseline male antioxidant levels did not differ between those couples with live birth and those that did not conceive or have a live birth.
conclusionsAmong men attending fertility centers in the USA, who have sufficient plasma antioxidant levels of zinc, selenium, or vitamin E, no association was observed between vitamins and semen parameters or clinical outcomes in couples with male infertility. Higher levels of antioxidants among men with circulating antioxidants in the normal range do not appear to confer benefit on semen parameters or male fertility.
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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.