Suplementação de antioxidantes e efeitos na fertilidade da mulher: uma revisão de literatura

Abstract

Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse. Due to the impacts of infertility on women's health, the investigation of antioxidants that may be potential nutritional strategies is relevant. The objective of this research was to evaluate, through a literature review, the effects of antioxidant supplementation on female fertility, as well as the potential mechanisms involved. A bibliographic search was carried out in the Pubmed and Web of Science databases in the last 10 years. 15 randomized clinical trials were included. The antioxidants supplemented in isolation were coenzyme Q10 and vitamin C. The studies that evaluated mix were quite different as the combinations of nutrients. The main drug co-interventions were clomifene citrate and metformin. There was no evidence of positive effects with isolated vitamin C supplementation. Supplementation with CoQ10 only, improved oocyte number and embryo quality. The mix of antioxidants (various combinations in the studies) had a positive effect on pregnancy and clinical pregnancy rates, the number of mature oocytes and the number of high-quality embryos. The combination of mix with co-intervention improved pregnancy and clinical pregnancy rates, number of oocytes in metaphase II, endometrial thickness and ovulation rate. Further work is required with better-defined inclusion criteria as well as dose investigation and duration of antioxidant supplementation.