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Infertility in Females

Infertility in Females

Female infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after a year of regular, unprotected intercourse and affects about 10–15% of couples worldwide. The primary cause of female infertility is ovulatory disorders, which hinder the release of eggs. These disorders can be classified as hypothalamic amenorrhea, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure, and hyperprolactinemic anovulation disorders.
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Oogenesis

Oogenesis

In human women, oogenesis produces one mature egg cell or ovum for every precursor cell that enters meiosis. This process differs in two unique ways from the equivalent procedure of spermatogenesis in males. First, meiotic divisions during oogenesis are asymmetric, meaning that a large oocyte (containing most of the cytoplasm) and minor polar body are produced as a result of meiosis I, and again following meiosis II. Since only oocytes will go on to form embryos if fertilized, this unequal...

Radical Autoxidation

Radical Autoxidation

The oxidation of an organic compound in the presence of air or oxygen is called autoxidation. For example, cumene reacts with oxygen to form hydroperoxide. Autoxidation involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. Many organic compounds are susceptible to autoxidation—especially ethers in the presence of oxygen, which form hydroperoxides. Even though this reaction is slow, old ether bottles contain small amounts of peroxide, which leads to laboratory explosions during ether...

Spermatogenesis

Spermatogenesis

Spermatogenesis is the process by which haploid sperm cells are produced in the male testes. It starts with stem cells located close to the outer rim of seminiferous tubules. These spermatogonial stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to additional stem cells (meaning that these structures “self-renew”), as well as sperm progenitors, called spermatocytes. Importantly, this method of asymmetric mitotic division maintains a population of spermatogonial stem cells in the male reproductive...

Infertility in Males

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Male infertility affects millions of couples worldwide, arising from various factors that impact different stages of the reproductive process. An endocrine imbalance resulting from conditions like hypogonadism, Klinefelter syndrome, or pituitary disorders can disrupt hormone levels and reduce sperm production. Testicular defects, such as tumors, cryptorchidism, atrophic testes, abnormal sperm morphology, and low sperm count or motility, may arise due to genetic factors, structural...

Oxidation of Phenols to Quinones

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In the presence of oxidizing agents, phenols are oxidized to quinones. Quinones can be easily reduced back to phenols using mild reducing agents. The electron-donating hydroxyl group enhances the reactivity of the aromatic ring, enabling oxidation of the ring even in the absence of an α hydrogen.
o-hydroxy phenols are oxidized to o-quinones and p-hydroxy phenols to p-quinones. Such redox reactions involve the transfer of two electrons and two protons. The reversible redox property is crucial in...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Evaluation of Intracellular Location of Reactive Oxygen Species in Solea Senegalensis Spermatozoa

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Published on: March 11, 2018

Antioxidants for female subfertility.

Marian G Showell¹, Julie Brown, Jane Clarke

¹Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland, Park Road Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

|August 6, 2013

Summary

Oral antioxidants do not improve live birth or clinical pregnancy rates for subfertile women. Limited evidence suggests pentoxifylline may increase pregnancy rates, but more research is needed.

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Area of Science:

Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology
Evidence-Based Medicine
Nutritional Science

Background:

Subfertility affects up to 25% of couples, with female factors contributing to 40-50% of cases.
Oxidative stress is implicated in female subfertility conditions like ovulatory disorders and endometriosis.
Antioxidants are hypothesized to mitigate oxidative stress and improve fertility outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the efficacy of oral antioxidant supplementation in improving fertility outcomes for subfertile women.
To compare antioxidant supplementation against placebo, no treatment, or other antioxidants.

Main Methods:

Systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 3548 women.
Searched multiple databases (inception to April 2013) for RCTs comparing oral antioxidants with placebo or no treatment.
Analyzed outcomes including live birth rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and adverse events, stratifying by antioxidant type and subfertility indication.

Main Results:

Antioxidants showed no significant association with increased live birth rates (OR 1.25, 95% CI 0.19-8.26) or clinical pregnancy rates (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.92-1.85) compared to placebo/no treatment.
Evidence quality was rated as 'very low' to 'low' due to small study sizes, high risk of bias, and heterogeneity.
Pentoxifylline demonstrated a potential association with increased clinical pregnancy rates (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.19-3.44) in a small subset of three trials.

Conclusions:

Current evidence suggests oral antioxidants do not improve live birth or clinical pregnancy rates in subfertile women.
The potential benefit of pentoxifylline requires further investigation due to limited supporting data.
No significant adverse effects were clearly identified, but data were limited.