A Systematic Review on Use of Medicinal Plants for Male Infertility Treatment
,
Abstract
Objective: Male infertility is involved in about half of the casess of infertility and the only sole reason for infertility in 20%-30% of the cases. Following the recent interest in the use of medicinal plants, scientists have sought to clarify their effects on male fertility. This review aimed to summarize the results of studies available to determine the effectiveness, safety and mechanism of herbal treatments in the improvement of male fertility.
Materials and methods: Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published during 2000-2020. Studies were only included if they adhered to the CONSORT checklist. The methodological quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.
Results: Finally, 20 studies recruiting a total of 1519 individuals were reviewed. These studies compared the effects of eleven different medicinal plants, i.e. ginseng, saffron, Nigella sativa, palm pollen, ADOFON, TOPALAF, sesame, and Mucuna pruriens, on male fertility with those of placebo. All studies (except one) confirmed the beneficial effects of medicinal plants on the improvement of sperm and reproductive parameters and thus male infertility.
Conclusion: The existing RCTs indicated the positive effects of medicinal plants on male fertility. Therefore, in order to develop a novel approach to the treatment of male infertility, further clinical trials are warranted to determine the maximum dosage and duration of treatment with herbal medicines and evaluate any potential side effects of such interventions.
1. Agarwal A, Roychoudhury S, Bjugstad KB, Cho C-L. Oxidation-reduction potential of semen: what is its role in the treatment of male infertility? Ther Adv Urol 2016; 8: 302-18.
2. Hosseini H, Abdi F. Experiences of vasectomy: A phenomenological study. N Am J Med Sci 2012; 4: 619-23.
3. Oyeyemi M.O, Olukole S.G, Esan O. Sperm
morphological studies of West African Dwarf Bucks treated with pumpkin plant (Cucurbita pepo). Int
J Morphol 2008; 26: 121-6.
4. Roozbeh N, Rostami S, Abdi F. A Review on herbal medicine with Fertility and Infertility characteristics in Males. IJOGI 2016; 19: 18-32. (Persian)
5. Marbeen MI ,AL-Snafi AE, Marbut MM, Allahwerdy IY. The probable therapeutic effects of date palm pollen in the treatment of male infertility. Tikrit Journal Pharmaceutical Sciences 2005; 1: 30-5.
6. Abdi F, Roozbeh N, Mortazavian AM. Effects of date palm pollen on fertility: research proposal for a systematic review. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10: 363.
7. Jain S, Choudhary GP,Jain DK. Medicinal plants with potential anti-fertility activity: A review. International Journal of Green Pharmacy 2015; 9: 223-8.
8. Yao DF, Mills JN. Male infertility: lifestyle factors and holistic, complementary, and alternative therapies. Asian J androl 2016; 18: 410-8.
9. Nejatbakhsh F, Shirbeigi L, Rahimi R, Abolhassani H. Review of local herbal compounds found in the Iranian traditional medicine known to optimise male fertility. Andrologia 2016; 48: 850-9.
10. Nantia E, Moundipa P.F, Monsees T.K, Carreau S. Medicinal plants as potential male anti-infertility agents: a review. Androl 2009; 19: 148-58.
11. Khaki A, Fathiazad F, Nouri M, Khaki A, Ozanci CC, Ghafari-Novin M, et al. The effects of Ginger on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters of rat. Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine 2009; 7: 7-12.
12. Rekka EA, Kourounakis AP, Kourounakis PN. Investigation of the effect of chamazulene on lipid peroxidation and free radical processes. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol 1996; 92: 361-4.
13. Abdi F, Kazemi F, Ramezani Tehrani F, Roozbeh N. Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis: hop (Humulus lupulus L.) for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. BMJ Open 2016; 6: e010734.
14. Higgins JP, Altman DG, Gøtzsche PC, Jüni P, Moher D, Oxman AD, et al. The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. Bmj 2011; 343: d5928.
15. Heidary M, Vahhabi S, Reza Nejadi J, Delfan B, Birjandi M, Kaviani H, et al. Effect of saffron on semen parameters of infertile men. Urol J 2008; 5: 255-9.
16. Safarinejad MR, Shafiei N, Safarinejad S. A prospective double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled study of the effect of saffron (Crocus sativus Linn.) on semen parameters and seminal plasma antioxidant capacity in infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Phytother Res 2011; 25: 508-16.
17. Shamsa A, Hosseinzadeh H, Molaei M, Shakeri MT, Rajabi O. Evaluation of Crocus sativus L.(saffron) on male erectile dysfunction: a pilot study. Phytomedicine
2009; 16: 690-3.
18. Rasekh A, Jashni HK, Rahmanian K, Jahromi AS. Effect of palm pollen on sperm parameters of infertile man. Pak J Biol Sci. 2015; 18: 196.
19. Saeed HS, Osman B, El-Hadiyah TMH, Mohamed MS, Osman WJA, Abdoon IH, et al. Date Palm Pollen Grains as a Potential Manager for Male Sub-fertility:
A Clinical Trial. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International 2020; 32: 83-95.
20. Khoradmehr A, Khalili MA, Ramezani M, Vahidi S, Moein MR. Improvement of sperm physiological parameters in patients with fertility problems after taking the herbal medicine "TOPALAF". Iranian Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 2014; 30: 275-81.
21. Ramezani M, Khalili M,Khoradnehr The Study Of Sperm Quality After Consumption Of A Traditional Herbal Compound (Adofon) By Infertile Men. Animal Biology. 2014; 6: 37-44.
22. Kim YT, Lee HL, Lee SC, Shin KH, Han KH, Lee SC, Jang H, Kim TH, Kim WJ. Effect of Panax Ginseng Water Extract for Treatment of Male Infertility. Korean J Androl. 2002; 20: 94-9.
23. Park HJ, Choe S, Park NC. Effects of Korean red ginseng on semen parameters in male infertility patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study. Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2016; 22: 490-5.
24. Khani B, Bidgoli SR, Moattar F, Hassani H. Effect of sesame on sperm quality of infertile men. J Res Med Sci 2013; 18: 184-7.
25. Kolahdooz M, Nasri S, Modarres SZ, Kianbakht S, Huseini HF. Effects of Nigella sativa L. seed oil on abnormal semen quality in infertile men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytomedicine. 2014; 21: 901-5.
26. Marbat M, Ali M, Hadi AM. The use of Nigella sativa as a single agent in treatment of male infertility. Tikrit
J Pharma Sci 2013; 9: 19-29.
27. Ambiye VR, Langade D, Dongre S, Aptikar P, Kulkarni M, Dongre A. Clinical evaluation of the spermatogenic activity of the root extract of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in oligospermic males: a pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2013; 2013: 571420.
28. Ahmad MK, Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Islam N, Rajender S, Madhukar D, et al. Withania somnifera improves semen quality by regulating reproductive hormone levels and oxidative stress in seminal plasma of infertile males. Fertil Steril 2010; 94 :989-96.
29. Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Rajender S, Shankhwar SN, Singh V, et al. Withania somnifera improves semen quality in stress-related male fertility. Evid
Based Complement Alternat Med 2009; 2011: 576962.
30. Mares WAAK, Najam WS. The effect of Ginger on semen parameters and serum FSH, LH & testosterone of infertile men. Tikrit Medical Journal 2012; 18: 322-9
31. Gupta A, Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Bansal N, Sankhwar P, et a l. Efficacy of Withania somnifera on seminal plasma metabolites of infertile males: a proton NMR study at 800MHz. J Ethnopharmacol 2013; 149: 208-14.
32. Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shankhwar SN, Rajender S, Jaiswar SP. Mucuna pruriens improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. Fertil Steril 2009; 92: 1934-40.
33. Mkrtchyan A, Panosyan V, Panossian A, Wikman G, Wagner H. A phase I clinical study of Andrographis paniculata fixed combination Kan Jang versus ginseng and valerian on the semen quality of healthy male subjects. Phytomedicine 2005; 12: 403-9.
34. Kolangi F, Shafi H, Memariani Z, Kamalinejad M, Bioos S, Jorsaraei SGA, et al. Effect of Alpinia officinarum Hance rhizome extract on spermatogram factors in men with idiopathic infertility: A prospective double‐blinded randomised clinical trial. Andrologia 2019; 51: e13172.
35. Chen DL, Li N, Lin L, Long HM, Lin H, Chen J, et al. Confocal mirco-Raman spectroscopic analysis of the antioxidant protection mechanism of the oligosaccharides extracted from Morinda officinalis on human sperm DNA. J Ethnopharmacol 2014; 153: 119-24.
36. Bahmanpour S, Talaei T, Vojdani Z, Panjehshahin MR, Poostpasand A, Zareei S, et al. Effect of Phoenix dactylifera pollen on sperm parameters and reproductive system of adult male rats. Iran J Med Sci 2006; 31: 208-212.
37. Cao L, Leers-Sucheta S, Azhar S. Aging alters the functional expression of enzymatic and non-enzymatic anti-oxidant defense systems in testicular rat Leydig cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2004; 88: 61-7.
38. Nazem H, Modaresi M, Messripour M, Marghmaleki MA, Ebadi AG. Effect of Saffron Extract on Pituitary-Testis Axis in Mice. Asian Journal of Chemistry 2009; 21: 1616-18.
39. Walczak–Jedrzejowska R, Wolski JK, Slowikowska–Hilczer J. The role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in male fertility. Cent European J Urol 2013; 66: 60-7.
2. Hosseini H, Abdi F. Experiences of vasectomy: A phenomenological study. N Am J Med Sci 2012; 4: 619-23.
3. Oyeyemi M.O, Olukole S.G, Esan O. Sperm
morphological studies of West African Dwarf Bucks treated with pumpkin plant (Cucurbita pepo). Int
J Morphol 2008; 26: 121-6.
4. Roozbeh N, Rostami S, Abdi F. A Review on herbal medicine with Fertility and Infertility characteristics in Males. IJOGI 2016; 19: 18-32. (Persian)
5. Marbeen MI ,AL-Snafi AE, Marbut MM, Allahwerdy IY. The probable therapeutic effects of date palm pollen in the treatment of male infertility. Tikrit Journal Pharmaceutical Sciences 2005; 1: 30-5.
6. Abdi F, Roozbeh N, Mortazavian AM. Effects of date palm pollen on fertility: research proposal for a systematic review. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10: 363.
7. Jain S, Choudhary GP,Jain DK. Medicinal plants with potential anti-fertility activity: A review. International Journal of Green Pharmacy 2015; 9: 223-8.
8. Yao DF, Mills JN. Male infertility: lifestyle factors and holistic, complementary, and alternative therapies. Asian J androl 2016; 18: 410-8.
9. Nejatbakhsh F, Shirbeigi L, Rahimi R, Abolhassani H. Review of local herbal compounds found in the Iranian traditional medicine known to optimise male fertility. Andrologia 2016; 48: 850-9.
10. Nantia E, Moundipa P.F, Monsees T.K, Carreau S. Medicinal plants as potential male anti-infertility agents: a review. Androl 2009; 19: 148-58.
11. Khaki A, Fathiazad F, Nouri M, Khaki A, Ozanci CC, Ghafari-Novin M, et al. The effects of Ginger on spermatogenesis and sperm parameters of rat. Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine 2009; 7: 7-12.
12. Rekka EA, Kourounakis AP, Kourounakis PN. Investigation of the effect of chamazulene on lipid peroxidation and free radical processes. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol 1996; 92: 361-4.
13. Abdi F, Kazemi F, Ramezani Tehrani F, Roozbeh N. Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis: hop (Humulus lupulus L.) for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. BMJ Open 2016; 6: e010734.
14. Higgins JP, Altman DG, Gøtzsche PC, Jüni P, Moher D, Oxman AD, et al. The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. Bmj 2011; 343: d5928.
15. Heidary M, Vahhabi S, Reza Nejadi J, Delfan B, Birjandi M, Kaviani H, et al. Effect of saffron on semen parameters of infertile men. Urol J 2008; 5: 255-9.
16. Safarinejad MR, Shafiei N, Safarinejad S. A prospective double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled study of the effect of saffron (Crocus sativus Linn.) on semen parameters and seminal plasma antioxidant capacity in infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Phytother Res 2011; 25: 508-16.
17. Shamsa A, Hosseinzadeh H, Molaei M, Shakeri MT, Rajabi O. Evaluation of Crocus sativus L.(saffron) on male erectile dysfunction: a pilot study. Phytomedicine
2009; 16: 690-3.
18. Rasekh A, Jashni HK, Rahmanian K, Jahromi AS. Effect of palm pollen on sperm parameters of infertile man. Pak J Biol Sci. 2015; 18: 196.
19. Saeed HS, Osman B, El-Hadiyah TMH, Mohamed MS, Osman WJA, Abdoon IH, et al. Date Palm Pollen Grains as a Potential Manager for Male Sub-fertility:
A Clinical Trial. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International 2020; 32: 83-95.
20. Khoradmehr A, Khalili MA, Ramezani M, Vahidi S, Moein MR. Improvement of sperm physiological parameters in patients with fertility problems after taking the herbal medicine "TOPALAF". Iranian Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 2014; 30: 275-81.
21. Ramezani M, Khalili M,Khoradnehr The Study Of Sperm Quality After Consumption Of A Traditional Herbal Compound (Adofon) By Infertile Men. Animal Biology. 2014; 6: 37-44.
22. Kim YT, Lee HL, Lee SC, Shin KH, Han KH, Lee SC, Jang H, Kim TH, Kim WJ. Effect of Panax Ginseng Water Extract for Treatment of Male Infertility. Korean J Androl. 2002; 20: 94-9.
23. Park HJ, Choe S, Park NC. Effects of Korean red ginseng on semen parameters in male infertility patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study. Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2016; 22: 490-5.
24. Khani B, Bidgoli SR, Moattar F, Hassani H. Effect of sesame on sperm quality of infertile men. J Res Med Sci 2013; 18: 184-7.
25. Kolahdooz M, Nasri S, Modarres SZ, Kianbakht S, Huseini HF. Effects of Nigella sativa L. seed oil on abnormal semen quality in infertile men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytomedicine. 2014; 21: 901-5.
26. Marbat M, Ali M, Hadi AM. The use of Nigella sativa as a single agent in treatment of male infertility. Tikrit
J Pharma Sci 2013; 9: 19-29.
27. Ambiye VR, Langade D, Dongre S, Aptikar P, Kulkarni M, Dongre A. Clinical evaluation of the spermatogenic activity of the root extract of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in oligospermic males: a pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2013; 2013: 571420.
28. Ahmad MK, Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Islam N, Rajender S, Madhukar D, et al. Withania somnifera improves semen quality by regulating reproductive hormone levels and oxidative stress in seminal plasma of infertile males. Fertil Steril 2010; 94 :989-96.
29. Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Rajender S, Shankhwar SN, Singh V, et al. Withania somnifera improves semen quality in stress-related male fertility. Evid
Based Complement Alternat Med 2009; 2011: 576962.
30. Mares WAAK, Najam WS. The effect of Ginger on semen parameters and serum FSH, LH & testosterone of infertile men. Tikrit Medical Journal 2012; 18: 322-9
31. Gupta A, Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Bansal N, Sankhwar P, et a l. Efficacy of Withania somnifera on seminal plasma metabolites of infertile males: a proton NMR study at 800MHz. J Ethnopharmacol 2013; 149: 208-14.
32. Shukla KK, Mahdi AA, Ahmad MK, Shankhwar SN, Rajender S, Jaiswar SP. Mucuna pruriens improves male fertility by its action on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. Fertil Steril 2009; 92: 1934-40.
33. Mkrtchyan A, Panosyan V, Panossian A, Wikman G, Wagner H. A phase I clinical study of Andrographis paniculata fixed combination Kan Jang versus ginseng and valerian on the semen quality of healthy male subjects. Phytomedicine 2005; 12: 403-9.
34. Kolangi F, Shafi H, Memariani Z, Kamalinejad M, Bioos S, Jorsaraei SGA, et al. Effect of Alpinia officinarum Hance rhizome extract on spermatogram factors in men with idiopathic infertility: A prospective double‐blinded randomised clinical trial. Andrologia 2019; 51: e13172.
35. Chen DL, Li N, Lin L, Long HM, Lin H, Chen J, et al. Confocal mirco-Raman spectroscopic analysis of the antioxidant protection mechanism of the oligosaccharides extracted from Morinda officinalis on human sperm DNA. J Ethnopharmacol 2014; 153: 119-24.
36. Bahmanpour S, Talaei T, Vojdani Z, Panjehshahin MR, Poostpasand A, Zareei S, et al. Effect of Phoenix dactylifera pollen on sperm parameters and reproductive system of adult male rats. Iran J Med Sci 2006; 31: 208-212.
37. Cao L, Leers-Sucheta S, Azhar S. Aging alters the functional expression of enzymatic and non-enzymatic anti-oxidant defense systems in testicular rat Leydig cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2004; 88: 61-7.
38. Nazem H, Modaresi M, Messripour M, Marghmaleki MA, Ebadi AG. Effect of Saffron Extract on Pituitary-Testis Axis in Mice. Asian Journal of Chemistry 2009; 21: 1616-18.
39. Walczak–Jedrzejowska R, Wolski JK, Slowikowska–Hilczer J. The role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in male fertility. Cent European J Urol 2013; 66: 60-7.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 15, No 2 (June 2021) | |
| Section | Review Articles | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jfrh.v15i2.6447 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Male Infertility Medicinal Plants Fertility | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Roozbeh N, Amirian A, Abdi F, Haghdoost S. A Systematic Review on Use of Medicinal Plants for Male Infertility Treatment. J Family Reprod Health. 2021;15(2):74-81.
