SynthesisFrontiers in endocrinology2021
Systematic Review and Critical Analysis on Dietary Supplements for Male Infertility: From a Blend of Ingredients to a Rationale Strategy.
Synthesis in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of astaxanthin efficacy in male infertility: evidence from clinical and preclinical studies.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Dietary Supplements for Erectile Dysfunction: Analysis of Marketed Products, Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Rational Use.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Divergent long-term trends in semen quality and reproductive hormones across the COVID-19 pandemic era in infertile men: an age-stratified retrospective study.Basic and clinical andrology · 2026Article
- Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, carbohydrate quality index, and low-carbohydrate diet score and their association with sperm DNA damage in unexplained male infertility.Genes & nutrition · 2026Article
- Mechanistic insights into the potential role of botanical drugs and plant-derived metabolites in mitigating oxidative stress in varicocele.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Review
- Role of Mediterranean Diet and Ultra-Processed Foods on Sperm Parameters: Data from a Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2025Observational
- Observational
- Effect of Micronutrients and L-Carnitine as Antioxidant on Sperm Parameters, Genome Integrity, and ICSI Outcomes: Randomized, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Heterogeneous Immunolocalisation of Zinc Transporters ZIP6, ZIP10 and ZIP14 in Human Normo- and Asthenozoospermic Spermatozoa.Current issues in molecular biology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Content: Dietary supplements (DS) for male infertility marketed in Italy were evaluated for composition, concentration of ingredients, and recommended daily dose. A systematic review of literature identified ingredients potentially effective on sperm parameters and their minimal effective daily dose (mED). Objective: This study was conducted in order to critically evaluate the composition and efficacy of DS marketed in Italy. Design Setting and Participants: This was a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Evidence Acquisition: A formula allowed us to classify the expected efficacy of each DS, based on composition. Each DS was scored and included into three classes of expected efficacy: high, low, and none. Evidence Synthesis: Among 24 supplements, 3 (12.5%) fall in high, 9 (37.5%) in lower, and 12 (50.0%) in no expected efficacy class. DS composition showed 36 substances, 18 with no literature on male fertility and 18 showing positive effect on sperm parameters, thus considered potentially active ingredients (PAI). All DS were mixtures of ingredients, containing from 2 to 17 different substances. Fifteen supplements (65.2%) contained at least 1 ingredient without evidence of efficacy and 21 formulations had PAI dosed below mED. Some PAI were associated to the improvement of specific sperm parameters. Conclusions: DS were usually blends of many substances that are frequently employed at negligible dose or without any evidence of efficacy on male reproduction. Some ingredients have been demonstrated to be effective on specific sperm parameters by RCTs. We report a list of ingredients with potential efficacy on specific sperm parameters, aimed to allow a tailored use of DS. Patient Summary: The market of DS for male infertility offers products with potential efficacy in the improvement of sperm parameters but also many with uncertain effects. Based on current scientific literature, our study can help in the choice of DS that are more likely to be effective on specific sperm alterations, so providing the best supplementation for each patient.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.