Abstract
Infertility, a couple’s inability to conceive after one year of unprotected regular intercourse, is an important issue in the world. The use of natural products in the treatment of infertility has been considered as a possible alternative to conventional therapies. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and the mechanisms of various natural products on infertility. We collected articles regarding infertility and natural products using the research databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Several natural products possess antioxidant properties and androgenic activities on productive factors and hormones. Antioxidants are the first defense barrier against free radicals produced by oxidative stress (OS). They remove reactive oxygen stress (ROS), reducing insulin resistance, total cholesterol, fat accumulation, and cancer growth. Moreover, various natural products increase endometrial receptivity and fertility ability showing androgenic activities on productive factors and hormones. For example, Angelica keiskei powder and Astragalus mongholicus extract showed anti-infertility efficacies in males and females, respectively. On the other hand, adverse effects and acute toxicity of natural products were also reported. Tripterygium glycoside decreased fertility ability both in males and females. Results indicate that management of infertility with natural products could be beneficial with further clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effect.
Highlights
Accumulating evidence indicates that the prevalence of human infertility has increased over the past decades [1]
The production of testosterone is decreased in aged Leydig cells, because of cellular changes in the steroidogenic pathway that decrease the production of testosterone, decrease luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate production, and downregulate steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), CYP11A1 in the mitochondria, and CYP17A1 in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
TM3 mouse Leydig cells, derived from ATCC No CRL mouse testes were treated with 1, 10, 25, 50 μg/mL of Taraxacum officinale aqueous extract for 48 h with fetal-bovine serum in Dulbecco’s modified eagle’s medium. It showed that the extract significantly activated the steroidogenic genes STAR, CYP11A1, and CYP17A1 in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and increased their mRNA levels, thereby increasing the testosterone levels in mouse Leydig cells. These results indicated that the Taraxacum officinale may be used as alternative medicine for the treatment of diseases characterized by insufficient testosterone, such as male infertility
Summary
Accumulating evidence indicates that the prevalence of human infertility has increased over the past decades [1]. Excessive production of ROS in reproductive tract can both damage the fluidity of sperm plasma membrane and the integrity of DNA in sperm nucleus, which can lead to spermatogenesis dysfunction and toxic effects on sperms, causing the lipid peroxidation of sperm membrane [8]. Such peroxidation exercises deterious influences and leads to serious pathological changes and infertility [9]. Endometrial cells express TLR-4 for recognition of the lipopolysaccharide endotoxin of Gram-negative bacteria, leading to secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and prostaglandin E2
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