The role of alpha lipoic acid in female and male infertility: a systematic review

Chiara Di Tucci, Giulia Galati, Giulia Mattei, Valentina Bonanni, Oriana Capri, R D'Amelio, Renzo D'Amelio, Ludovico Muzii, Pierluigi Benedetti Panici
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2020 · vol. 37(6) , pp. 497–505 · doi:10.1080/09513590.2020.1843619 · PMID:33345661 · W3115866034
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Alpha lipoic acid demonstrates beneficial effects on oocyte maturation, fertilization, embryo development, and sperm quality, while also reducing pelvic pain and improving menstrual regularity in sub-fertile individuals.

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Abstract

Objective Infertility is an increasingly frequent health condition, which may depend on female or male factors. Oxidative stress (OS), resulting from a disrupted balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protective antioxidants, affects the reproductive lifespan of men and women. In this review, we examine if alpha lipoic acid (ALA), among the oral supplements currently in use, has an evidence-based beneficial role in the context of female and male infertility.Methods We performed a search from English literature using PubMed database with the following keywords: ‘female infertility’, ‘male infertility’, ‘semen’, ‘sperm’, ‘sub-fertile man’, ‘alpha-lipoic acid’, ‘ alpha lipoic acid’, ‘lipoid acid’, ‘endometriosis’, ‘chronic pelvic pain’, ‘follicular fluid’ and ‘oocytes’. We included clinical trials, multicentric studies and reviews. The total number of references found after automatically and manually excluding duplicates was 180. After primary and secondary screening, 28 articles were selected.Results The available literature demonstrates the positive effects of ALA in multiple processes from oocyte maturation (0.87 ± 0.9% of oocyte in MII vs 0.81 ± 3.9%; p < .05) to fertilization, embryo development (57.7% vs 75.7% grade 1 embryo; p < .05) and reproductive outcomes. Its regular administration both in sub-fertile women and men shows to reduce pelvic pain in endometriosis (p < .05), regularize menstrual flow and metabolic disorders (p < .01) and improve sperm quality (p < .001).Conclusions ALA represents a promising new molecule in the field of couple infertility. More clinical studies are needed in order to enhance its use in clinical practice.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paininfertility

MeSH descriptors

Infertility, Female Infertility, Male Thioctic Acid Adult Embryonic Development Embryonic Development Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Infertility, Male Infertility, Male Male Oogenesis Oogenesis Oxidative Stress Oxidative Stress Semen Semen Thioctic Acid

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References (72)

Source provenance

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK