Abstract
Food and drug supplements (FDS) are extensively used by infertile couples either to
supplement medical infertility treatment and assisted conception or as a means to
independently improve conception rates. The majority of FDS are composed of antioxidants
that are used for male and female infertility. Their use, despite being biologically
plausible, lacks scientific support due to limitations stemming from poorly designed
small studies. FDS and for that matter complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
is plagued by fallacies that confuse or mislead the public and thus may prevent many
patients from making the right therapeutic decisions regarding their infertility problem.
We do concur that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence; however,
one should be wary of the apparent benign effects of FDS and CAM. The current literature
seems to suggest a beneficial effect of antioxidants on male infertility. There is,
however, no FDS that has been proven beyond doubt to increase conception rates in
female infertility. The additive value of CAM and FDS on the success of assisted conception
is also not known. Well-designed randomized studies are urgently needed given the
popularity and ever increasing consumption of these supplements by the infertile couples.
Keywords
food supplements - drug supplements - infertility - fertility - antioxidants - alternative
medicine
