Effect of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium, and Coenzyme Q10 in Infertile Men with Idiopathic Oligoasthenozoospermia

Introduction: Accumulating evidence suggests that oxidative stress plays an important role in the development of male infertil­ ity and recently antioxidants have been tried to treat men with idiopathic infertility. Objective: To assess the effect of treatment with vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, selenium, and coenzyme Q10 on seminal fluid parameters in infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenozoo­ spermia. Materials and methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted on 32 infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenozoo­ spmia who received a daily supplement of one caplet contain­ ing vitamin C (90 mg/day), vitamin E (15 mg/day), coenzyme Q10 (4 mg/day), selenium (30 μg/day), and zinc (5 mg/day) for 3 months. Semen analysis was performed at baseline and 3 months after treatment using World Health Organization (WHO) 2010 guidelines. Results: Significant improvement in sperm concentration was observed after combination therapy (9.13 ± 4.29 vs 11.3 ± 6.05 × 106/mL, p < 0.05). Sperm progressive motility (18.1 ± 8.68 vs 24.6 ± 10.2%, p < 0.01) and total motility (28.4 ± 8.71 vs 34.4 ± 11.7%, p < 0.01) also increased significantly following treatment. No change, however, was observed in semen volume or the proportion of sperms with normal morphology. Conclusion: The combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, selenium, and coenzyme Q10 can significantly improve sperm concentration and motility in infertile men with idiopathic oligo­ asthenozoospermia, which could be attributed to their synergistic antioxidant action.