Trial reportReproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E2014
Study of the effects of oral zinc supplementation on peroxynitrite levels, arginase activity and NO synthase activity in seminal plasma of Iraqi asthenospermic patients.
Trial report in Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.
- Zinc levels in seminal plasma and their correlation with male infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2016Pooled it
- Seminal Zinc Levels and Their Nonlinear Relationship with Sperm Concentration: A Chinese Population-Based Study.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- The role of oxidative stress in sleep deprivation-induced reproductive dysfunction: A rationale for anti-oxidant intervention.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2026Review
- The influence of environmental and chemical exposures on fertility in the Eastern Mediterranean region: A narrative review.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2025Review
- The Preventive Effect of Zinc Sulfate against Olanzapine-Induced Testicular Toxicity in Male Rats.Biological trace element research · 2025Article
- Association Between Zinc Levels and the Impact of Its Deficiency on Idiopathic Male Infertility: An Up-to-Date Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Modifiable life style factors and male reproductive health: a cross-sectional study in IVF clinic attendees in Ghana.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2025Article
- Zinc as a Possible Critical Element to Prevent Harmful Effects of COVID-19 on Testicular Function: a Narrative Review.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2024Review
- Review
- Impact of Antioxidants on Conventional and Advanced Sperm Function Parameters: An Updated Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Oxidative Stress and Male Infertility: The Protective Role of Antioxidants.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- FeTPPS, a Peroxynitrite Decomposition Catalyst, Ameliorates Nitrosative Stress in Human Spermatozoa.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Preventative and therapeutic potential of animal milk components against COVID-19: A comprehensive review.Food science & nutrition · 2023Article
- Antioxidant Supplementation on Male Fertility-A Systematic Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Beneficial role of naringin against methotrexate-induced injury to rat testes: biochemical and ultrastructural analyses.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2022Article
- Current Insights and Latest Updates in Sperm Motility and Associated Applications in Assisted Reproduction.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2022Review
- Zinc at the crossroads of exercise and proteostasis.Redox biology · 2020Review
- Effects of Magnesium Sulfate Administration on Testicular Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats.Archives of Razi Institute · 2020Article
- Oxidative Stress in the Male Germline: A Review of Novel Strategies to Reduce 4-Hydroxynonenal Production.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- The effects of oral antioxidants on the semen of men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) are necessary for the biology and physiology of spermatozoa, but high levels of NO are toxic and have negative effects on sperm functions. Although several studies have considered the relationship between infertility and semen NO concentrations, no study on the effects of asthenospermia treatments such as oral zinc supplementation on concentrations of NO, which are important in fertility, has been reported. Studies have shown that oral zinc supplementation develops sperm count, motility and the physical characteristics of sperm in animals and in some groups of infertile men. The present study was conducted to study the effect of zinc supplementation on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of semen, along with enzymes of the NO pathway in the seminal plasma of asthenospermic patients.
methodsSemen samples were obtained from 60 fertile and 60 asthenozoospermic infertile men of matched age. The subfertile group was treated with zinc sulfate; each participant took two capsules (220 mg per capsule) per day for 3 months. Semen samples were obtained (before and after zinc sulfate supplementation). After liquefaction of the seminal fluid at room temperature, routine semen analyses were performed. The stable metabolites of NO (nitrite) in seminal plasma were measured by nitrophenol assay. Arginase activity and NO synthase activity were measured spectrophotometrically.
resultsPeroxynitrite levels, arginase activity, NO synthase activity and various sperm parameters were compared among fertile controls and infertile patients (before and after treatment with zinc sulfate). Peroxynitrite levels and NO synthase activity were significantly higher in the infertile patients compared to the fertile group. Conversely, arginase activity was significantly higher in the fertile group than the infertile patients. Peroxynitrite levels, arginase activity and NO synthase activity of the infertile patient were restored to normal values after treatment with zinc sulfate. Volume of semen, progressive sperm motility percentage and total normal sperm count were increased after zinc supplementation.
conclusionsTreatment of asthenospermic patients with zinc supplementation leads to restored peroxynitrite levels, arginase activity and NO synthase activity to normal values and gives a statistically significant improvement of semen parameters compared with controls.
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