Dietary supplements in the management of varicocele‐induced infertility: A review of potential mechanisms

Abstract

Varicocele is a main cause of lower production of spermatozoon and infertility with multiple pathophysiological mechanisms. In the past decades, the use of dietary supplements has significantly increased due to both the modern lifestyle and the food shortages of the industrialised countries. The purpose of this review paper is to collect scientific evidences from basic and clinical studies which support the use of dietary supplements to define the clinical framework for patients with varicocele. In the present review, we used keywords such as dietary supplements, varicocele, male infertility, oxidative stress, DNA fragmentation, sperm parameters to find the proper articles. The standard search biomedical engines were used for seeking the papers. The use of dietary supplements such as minerals, vitamins and antioxidants has an essential role in the prevention and treatment of varicocele by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes (e.g. peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase) and decreasing the levels of inflammatory markers (e.g. tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-1) in testis. According to the results, the dietary supplements may alleviate the spermatogenesis in varicocele patients through different mechanisms such as suppression of stress oxidative and inflammation in testicular tissue.

Fatty Acid Oxidation and Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators Are Related to Male Infertility

“…The high content of PUFAs in the sperm plasma membrane, makes them susceptible to lipid peroxidation in presence of oxidative stress (OS) [ 13 ]. Male infertility may be due to an inflammation-mediated OS including varicocele, tobacco usage, alcohol, obesity/metabolic syndrome, leukocytospermia, sexually transmitted disease, bacterial prostatitis, and viral infections [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Inflammation status may be associated also with idiopathic infertility [ 18 ].…”

Mailuoshutong pill for varicocele-associated male infertility—Phytochemical characterisation and multitarget mechanism

“…Although the pathophysiological mechanisms of male infertility caused by VC have not been elucidated, current studies have focused on elevated local testicular temperature, oxidative stress, metabolite accumulation, and hormonal disorders (Razi et al, 2021). Varicocelectomy, the primary treatment for varicoceleassociated male infertility, can mitigate delayed testicular development and impaired semen quality, but studies have shown that some patients still do not return to baseline semen quality after surgery (Arab et al, 2021;Shomarufov et al, 2022). There is an urgent need to find effective complementary alternative therapies.…”