Background: Several studies have recently been conducted on herbal plants due to their growing medicinal usage. Since it is estimated that male partner causes 40% of infertility, we aimed to examine the effects of herbal combinations, including Zayesh Booalidaroo + Safoof-e Hefz + Royal jelly, in increasing male fertility in men with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT).
Methods: A total of 50 OAT men were chosen, confirmed, and diagnosed by a urologist. They were randomly divided into two groups: Herbal and routine therapy (Sperigen supplement). All the parameters in semen analysis, hormonal assay, sperm DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency, and the concentration of seminal plasma antioxidants, including malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), were assessed in both groups before and after the intervention.
Results: According to the obtained data, the herbal group showed improved total sperm and /mL count (P=0.0001 and P=0.007, respectively) along with increased progressive and total motility (P=0.02 and P=0.043, respectively), while routine therapy did not change any of sperm parameters significantly (P>0.05). Also, in hormonal assessment, there were no significant changes after interventions except in the herbal therapy group, where patients showed an elevated testosterone hormone level (P=0.00). Furthermore, the seminal concentration of all assessed antioxidant enzymes significantly increased in both groups (P≤0.05).
Conclusion: The antioxidant properties of herbal composition ingredients and their ability to improve the level of testosterone hormone are the main factors responsible for lessening the percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm parameters. So, this herbal therapy can be regarded as a practical option in improving semen quality.