Manish Kuchakulla1, Yash Soni1, Premal Patel1, Neel Parekh2, Ranjith Ramasamy3. 1. Department of Urology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL. 2. Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. 3. Department of Urology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL. Electronic address: Ramasamy@miami.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the level of evidence available for ingredients of popular over-the-counter male fertility supplements. METHODS: The top 17 male fertility supplements in the United States were identified from the most popular online retailers: A1 Supplements, Amazon, Vitamin Shoppe, and Walmart. Individual ingredients were identified for each supplement. The PUBMED and Cochrane online databases were reviewed for randomized controlled trials studying the efficacy of each ingredient. Each ingredient was categorized based on availability of evidence using an adapted version of the scoring system by the American Heart Association. Scores were assigned to each categorical level of evidence for each ingredient and a composite score for each supplement was calculated. RESULTS: Ninety unique ingredients were identified. The 5 most commonly used ingredients were vitamin E, folic acid, zinc, vitamin C, and selenium whereas the 5 ingredients with most evidence were L-carnitine, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, CoQ10, and Zinc. In all, only 22% of ingredients used were found to have published evidence for improvement in semen parameters and only 17% of ingredients had data published showing a positive effect. Our evidence-based analysis demonstrated an average composite rating of 1.66 (on a scale to 5). Evolution 60 and Conception XR had the highest composite scores with 3.6 and 3.5, respectively. CONCLUSION: Many male fertility supplements claim to improve fertility; however, their products are rarely backed by evidence and their efficacy remains unproven. Few ingredients used in popular fertility supplements have positive evidence in randomized clinical trials and should therefore be used cautiously.
OBJECTIVE: To study the level of evidence available for ingredients of popular over-the-counter male fertility supplements. METHODS: The top 17 male fertility supplements in the United States were identified from the most popular online retailers: A1 Supplements, Amazon, Vitamin Shoppe, and Walmart. Individual ingredients were identified for each supplement. The PUBMED and Cochrane online databases were reviewed for randomized controlled trials studying the efficacy of each ingredient. Each ingredient was categorized based on availability of evidence using an adapted version of the scoring system by the American Heart Association. Scores were assigned to each categorical level of evidence for each ingredient and a composite score for each supplement was calculated. RESULTS: Ninety unique ingredients were identified. The 5 most commonly used ingredients were vitamin E, folic acid, zinc, vitamin C, and selenium whereas the 5 ingredients with most evidence were L-carnitine, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, CoQ10, and Zinc. In all, only 22% of ingredients used were found to have published evidence for improvement in semen parameters and only 17% of ingredients had data published showing a positive effect. Our evidence-based analysis demonstrated an average composite rating of 1.66 (on a scale to 5). Evolution 60 and Conception XR had the highest composite scores with 3.6 and 3.5, respectively. CONCLUSION: Many male fertility supplements claim to improve fertility; however, their products are rarely backed by evidence and their efficacy remains unproven. Few ingredients used in popular fertility supplements have positive evidence in randomized clinical trials and should therefore be used cautiously.
Authors: Andrea Garolla; Gabriel Cosmin Petre; Francesco Francini-Pesenti; Luca De Toni; Amerigo Vitagliano; Andrea Di Nisio; Carlo Foresta Journal: Nutrients Date: 2020-05-19 Impact factor: 5.717
Authors: Ashok Agarwal; Kristian Leisegang; Ahmad Majzoub; Ralf Henkel; Renata Finelli; Manesh Kumar Panner Selvam; Nicholas Tadros; Neel Parekh; Edmund Y Ko; Chak Lam Cho; Mohamed Arafa; Marco G Alves; Pedro Fontes Oliveira; Juan G Alvarez; Rupin Shah Journal: World J Mens Health Date: 2021-01-15 Impact factor: 5.400
Authors: Andrea Garolla; Gabriel Cosmin Petre; Francesco Francini-Pesenti; Luca De Toni; Amerigo Vitagliano; Andrea Di Nisio; Giuseppe Grande; Carlo Foresta Journal: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) Date: 2022-02-04 Impact factor: 5.555
Authors: Anastasiia D Shcherbitskaia; Evgeniia M Komarova; Yulia P Milyutina; Mariia A Ishchuk; Yanina M Sagurova; Galina K Safaryan; Elena A Lesik; Alexander M Gzgzyan; Olesya N Bespalova; Igor Y Kogan Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2022-09-02 Impact factor: 6.208
Authors: Massimiliano Creta; Davide Arcaniolo; Giuseppe Celentano; Luigi Napolitano; Roberto La Rocca; Marco Capece; Gianluigi Califano; Francesco Mangiapia; Lorenzo Spirito; Felice Crocetto; Ciro Imbimbo; Nicola Longo; Marco De Sio; Ferdinando Fusco Journal: Antioxidants (Basel) Date: 2021-12-30