Important elements

Important elements and antioxidants for female fertility.

On this page we have gathered a list of independent scientific researches and studies about micronutrients that have can have a positive impact on female fertility.

Zinc

Study:

Maternal Selenium, Copper and Zinc Concentrations in Early Pregnancy and the Association with Fertility

PUBLICATION DATE: 2019
LOCATION: Australia
PATIENTS: 1060
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: natural conception
LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6683068/

It took longer to conceive for women who had lower zinc and selenium concentrations.
Lower selenium and zinc trace element concentrations, which likely reflect lower dietary intakes, associate with a longer time to pregnancy.

Zinc

Beta carotene

Study:

Female dietary antioxidant intake and time to pregnancy among couples treated for unexplained infertility

PUBLICATION DATE: 2014
LOCATION: US
PATIENTS: 437
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: females with unexplained infertility (IUI/IVF)
LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3943921/

Increased intake of β-carotene from dietary supplements was associated with shorter TTP in the overweight/obese women and the younger age-group strata.

Beta carotene

N-acetylcysteine, CoQ10, Melatonin

Study:

“Antioxidants for female subfertility. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews”

PUBLICATION DATE: 2020
PATIENTS: 2655
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: women attending a reproductive clinic
STUDIES INCLUDED: 19 randomised clinical trials
LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8094745/

Some of the predominant antioxidants used in female subfertility are N‐acetylcysteine; melatonin; vitamins A, C and E; folic acid; zinc and selenium.
Evidence suggests that antioxidants may improve clinical pregnancy rate compared with placebo or no treatment/standard treatment

N-acetylcysteine, Melatonin

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), folic acid

Study:

“N-acetyl cysteine for treatment of recurrent unexplained pregnancy loss”

PUBLICATION DATE: 2008
LOCATION: Egypt
PATIENTS: 106
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: women with unexplained pregnancy loss + conceived naturally
LINK: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18983759/

Miscarriage and pregnancy have been associated with a variety of biological phenomena including increased oxidative stress, angiogenesis and apoptosis.
NAC + folic acid to patients with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) significantly increased pregnancy viability to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The incidence of take-home baby is significantly higher in the NAC + folic acid group compared with the folic acid only group.
NAC could potentially be clinically useful in the management of unexplained RPL.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), folic acid

Coenzyme Q10

Study:

“Coenzyme Q10 supplementation of human oocyte in vitro maturation reduces postmeiotic aneuploidies”

PUBLICATION DATE: 2020
LOCATION: China
PATIENTS: 63
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: IVF treatment patients who donated immature oocytes (then oocytes in lab cultured with CoQ10)
LINK: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32646587/

In women aged 38–46 years, CoQ10 significantly increased oocyte maturation rates, reduced oocyte aneuploidy rates, and reduced chromosome aneuploidy frequencies.

Coenzyme Q10

Melatonin

Study:

“Impact of Melatonin Supplementation in Women with Unexplained Infertility Undergoing Fertility Treatment”

PUBLICATION DATE: 2016
LOCATION: Iran
PATIENTS: 60
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: PCOS / ICSI
LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6769719/

Oxidative stress biomarkers were dramatically higher in follicular fluid of women experiencing Unexplained Infertility than those in fertile women.
Melatonin supplementation significantly decreased intrafollicular oxidative stress biomarker‘s levels in those Unexplained Infertility patients who were given 3 mg or 6 mg melatonin/day. .
The proportion of mature oocytes and the percentage of fertilized oocytes, were significantly higher in Unexplained Infertility patients treated with melatonin.

Melatonin

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

Study:

“N-Acetylcysteine improves oocyte and embryo quality in polycystic ovary syndrome patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection: an alternative to metformin”

PUBLICATION DATE: 2019
LOCATION: Spain
PATIENTS: 40
TYPE OF PREGNANCY: unexplained infertility / ICSI
LINK: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25482371/

NAC has multiple biological effects, preserving the follicles in the ovary and improving the pregnancy rate.
Number of immature and abnormal oocytes decreased significantly in the NAC administered group compared with placebo group.
NAC treatment reduces the number of immature oocytes and morphological abnormalities, increases the normality and maturity of oocytes and the number of good embryo formed.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

Folic Acid

Study:

Folic Acid Supplementation and Pregnancy: More Than Just Neural Tube Defect Prevention

PUBLICATION DATE: 2011
LOCATION: China
LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/

Folate deficiency has been associated with abnormalities in both mothers (anemia, peripheral neuropathy) and fetuses (congenital abnormalities).
Periconceptional folic acid supplementation protects against fetal structural anomalies, including neural tube and congenital heart defects.
Recent data suggest that it may also protect against preterm birth.
In the United States, up to approximately 60% of the population are intermediate metabolizers of folate.

Folic acid