ReviewJournal of reproduction & infertility
Zinc is an Essential Element for Male Fertility: A Review of Zn Roles in Men's Health, Germination, Sperm Quality, and Fertilization.
Review in Journal of reproduction & infertility. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 131 papers, 3 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
131 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 251 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy on Male Sexual Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Metabolic and bariatric surgery and male endocrine and reproductive health: a GRADE-assessed meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Dietary Supplements for Male Infertility: A Critical Evaluation of Their Composition.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- XFM and HERFD-XAS studies of selenium in tissues and whole blood from mice supplemented with potentially therapeutic selenocompounds.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2026Article
- Zinc is a key regulator of the sperm-specific KeLife · 2026Article
- Molecular Imaging of In Vivo Zinc Distribution Using Nuclear and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Chemical & biomedical imaging · 2026Review
- Trichomonas vaginalis cathepsin D-like aspartic proteinase (Tv-CatD) is regulated by iron at different levels.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Article
- Combined Effects of Nano-Zinc Oxide and Sesame Oil on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Defense, and Mineral Metabolism in Growing Rabbits.Veterinary sciences · 2026Article
- Acute Dietary Zinc Deficiency Impairs Sperm Motility but Not Gonadal mRNA Methylation in Mice.Molecular reproduction and development · 2026Article
- Article
- The systems that transport ions and their impact on sperm function and male fertility.Function (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- c-Fos-driven metabolic switch of α-ketoglutarate orchestrates progression in prostate cancer.Cell death & disease · 2026Article
- A furano-RSC advances · 2026Article
- Seminal Zinc Levels and Their Nonlinear Relationship with Sperm Concentration: A Chinese Population-Based Study.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Successful sexual aging: A narrative review using the multidimensional theoretical paradigm of systems sexology to explore sexual health in midlife and older adults.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Review
- Article
- A comprehensive review about sperm-oocyte interactions and key activation factors of fertilization in mammals.The Canadian journal of urology · 2026Review
- Redox Perturbation in Cadmium-Mediated Hypothalamic, Pituitary, and Testicular Impairment and Protective Effects of Zinc in Rats Is Accompanied by Modulation of Tryptophan Catabolism Enzyme/Protein.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Evaluation of milk-based and egg-based semen extenders for extended storage of ram semen at 4°C.Translational animal science · 2026Article
71 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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
Zinc (Zn) is the second most abundant trace element in human, which can't be stored in the body, thus regular dietary intake is required. This review explained the physiological and pathogenesis roles of zinc in men's health and its potentials in germination, quality of sperm, and fertilization. Our investigation showed that Zn contained many unique properties in human, especially males. The antioxidant quality is one of them. Also, the increased reactive oxygen species levels in the seminal plasma of men who are both infertile and smokers influence the Zn content of seminal plasma in a way that physiology of spermatozoa can be affected as well. Moreover, Zn acts as a toxic repercussionagainst heavy metals and cigarette inflammatory agents. Zinc as a hormone balancer helps hormones such as testosterone, prostate and sexual healthand functions as an antibacterial agent in men's urea system. It plays a role in epithelial integrity, showing that Zn is essential for maintaining the lining of the reproductive organs and may have a regulative role in the progress of capacitation and acrosome reaction. In contrast, Zn deficiency impedes spermatogenesis and is a reason for sperm abnormalities and has a negative effect on serum testosterone concentration. Based on these findings, Zn microelement is very essential for male fertility. It could be considered as a nutrient marker with many potentials in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of male infertility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
30009140PMC6010824W2809418181What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.