Noh Seungjin, Go Ara, Kim Da Bin, Park Minjeong, Jeon Hee Won, Kim Bonglee
College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Korea.
Department of Pathology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Korea.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Oct 7;9(10):957. doi: 10.3390/antiox9100957.
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, 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.
不孕症是指一对夫妇在无保护的规律性交一年后仍无法受孕，这是一个全球性的重要问题。使用天然产物治疗不孕症已被视为传统疗法的一种可能替代方案。本研究旨在探讨各种天然产物对不孕症的影响及其作用机制。我们通过研究数据库PubMed和谷歌学术收集了有关不孕症和天然产物的文章。几种天然产物对生殖因子和激素具有抗氧化特性和雄激素活性。抗氧化剂是对抗氧化应激（OS）产生的自由基的第一道防御屏障。它们清除活性氧应激（ROS），降低胰岛素抵抗、总胆固醇、脂肪堆积和癌症生长。此外，各种天然产物可提高子宫内膜容受性和生育能力，对生殖因子和激素表现出雄激素活性。例如， 粉和黄芪提取物分别对雄性和雌性显示出抗不孕功效。另一方面，也有关于天然产物不良反应和急性毒性的报道。雷公藤多苷降低了雄性和雌性的生育能力。结果表明，天然产物治疗不孕症可能有益，但需要进一步的临床试验来评估其安全性和效果。
