The efficacy of antioxidants in sperm parameters and production of reactive oxygen species levels during the freeze‐thaw process: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

To investigate the impact of antioxidants in sperm parameters and reduction in reactive oxygen species production during the freeze‐thaw process. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane central library were systematically searched. Of the 1583 articles, 23 studies were selected for data extraction. Our results show that antioxidants improved sperm progressive motility (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 1; 95% CI: 0.62, 1.38; p < .001) and viability (SMD = 1.20; 95% CI: 0.50, 1.91; p = .001) and reduced sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, but there was no significant improvement in total sperm motility after thawing. Acetyl‐l‐carnitine/l‐carnitine, melatonin and catalase had a significant positive impact on progressive motility. The role of tempol and melatonin in improving viability was significant compared to other antioxidants. Moreover, a significant reduction in SDF was observed after addition of butylated hydroxytoluene, tempol and vitamin E. However, the prevention of H2O2 production was significant only after the addition of tempol. Our overall results displayed the positive impact of antioxidants on progressive sperm motility, viability and reduction in SDF and H2O2 production, but no significant impact of antioxidants on total sperm motility was seen during the freeze‐thaw process.

Beneficial effects of hypotaurine supplementation in preparation and freezing media on human sperm cryo-capacitation and DNA quality

“…All measured nuclear alterations were significantly reduced by hypotaurine supplementation. The protective effects of hypotaurine on sperm nuclear integrity reported here confirmed our preliminary report [ 28 ] and are consistent with other reports that have shown that AO supplementation in freezing media protects sperm cells from DNA damage [ 2 , 5 , 23 ]. Our study demonstrates that the addition of AO to the selection and freezing media reduces both sperm nuclear vacuolization and alterations in chromatin packaging.…”

“…Indeed, publications showed that hypotaurine can scavenge the aggressive hydroxyl radical [ 36 , 51 ], but its ability to deal with H 2 O 2 (or/and H 2 O 2 -mediated damage) is not clearly established. It has recently been shown that different antioxidants, when combined, can have additive positive effects on spermatozoa (for recent reviews [ 2 , 5 , 22 , 23 ]). Other AO will be tested in combination with hypotaurine to measure potential synergistic and/or complementary action.…”

Influence of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on Antioxidant Status and Semen Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Adult Men

“…Moreover, it may increase the number of leukocytes in semen and lead to hormone fluctuations (e.g., testosterone), causing disorders in the functioning of the male reproductive system and significantly reducing the ability to fertilize (3,(8)(9)(10). Thus, assessing the level of oxidative stress in the body should be included in male infertility diagnosis, and may be a useful tool in determining the ability to fertilize sperm (11).…”

Green tea extract increases the quality and reduced DNA mutation of post-thawed Kacang buck sperm

“…Antioxidants improved sperm viability, motility, and reduced sperm SDF [ 53 ]. The addition of GTE 0.1 mg/100 mL extender (T2 group, Table 3 ) revealed the lowest SDF, total, and types of ND1 mtDNA fragments mutation frequency.…”