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Natural Antioxidants

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Male Infertility

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Abstract

An excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidant radicals has been associated with male infertility. The total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) is a recently developed assay measuring the overall capability of biological fluids or cellular antioxidants to neutralize the toxicity of various oxyradicals. The TOSC assay can discriminate between different forms of ROS, allowing to identify the role of specific antioxidants, or their pathway of formation in the onset of toxicological or pathological processes. The previous application of TOSC assay in andrology led us to show a reduced antioxidant efficiency in seminal fluid of infertile men with a significant correlation between the scavenging capacity towards hydroxyl radicals and parameters of sperm cell motility. Despite the fact that oxidative stress is well recognized as a cause of male infertility, the use of antioxidants as a treatment is still debated, and it is considered as a “supplementation” therapy, rather than an etiological or physiopathological therapy, since no clear correlation has been investigated between a real deficiency of a specific antioxidant and the effect of oral supplementation. Various models have been introduced to explore the protective role of different antioxidants in vitro, and some differences can be discovered regarding the protective effects exerted by specific enzymatic or non-enzymatic molecules. We focus our attention on two main natural antioxidants, the efficacy of which has been supported by clinical trials: coenzyme Q10 and carnitine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrology Unit, Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine and Applied Biotechnologies, Umberto I Hospital, School of Medicine, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, 60100, Italy

    Giancarlo Balercia MD

  2. Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Umberto I Hospital, Ancona, 60100, Italy

    Giancarlo Balercia MD

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, The Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

    Antonio Mancini MD

  4. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Specialistiche ed Odontostomatologiche, Universita Politecnica delle Marche, Vai Ranieri 65, Ancona, 60131, Italy

    Gian Paolo Littarru MD

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  1. Giancarlo Balercia MD
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  2. Antonio Mancini MD
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Correspondence to Giancarlo Balercia MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Director, Robotic Surgery, Winter Haven Hospital &, 200 Avenue F. N.E., Winter Haven, 33881, Florida, USA

    Sijo J. Parekattil

  2. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic, Euclid Avenue 9500, Cleveland, 44195, Ohio, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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Balercia, G., Mancini, A., Littarru, G.P. (2012). Natural Antioxidants. In: Parekattil, S., Agarwal, A. (eds) Male Infertility. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3335-4_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3335-4_35

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