Improvement in Semen Quality and Occurrence of Pregnancy Treated with an Herbal Medication: a Case Report

Abstract

Male infertility is one of the most important subjects in medical sciences. It can cause private, social, and economic problems. Idiopathic male infertility is a situation where abnormal sperm parameters are created due to no specific cause and without definite standard treatment. Some herbal antioxidants can improve semen quality and assist infertile patients. We here report a case with idiopathic infertility who had been trying to have a child for 4 years, but he failed. A 33-year-old non-smoker, overweight man referral from urologist due to idiopathic infertility to the traditional medicine clinic. He had been trying to have a child for 4 years, and the first three years received antioxidant supplements but he was unsuccessful. Alpinia officinarum (Lesser galangal) rhizome in powder form was prepared and administered to the patient for three months. After the intervention, all the semen parameters were improved. A. officinarum has a high amount of galangin that has antioxidant effects. In this study, we showed that the spouse of an idiopathic infertile male becomes pregnant after receiving A. officinarum rhizome