Comparison of Three Nutriceutical Food Supplements for the Treatment of Infertility

Aims: Approximately one out of every 8 couples is confronted with a problem of infertility. The diagnostic and therapeutic management, taking into account the WHO recommendations, may be complemented by nutriceutical food supplementation. The present study compares the original nutriceutical (Qualisperm？) with two recently marketed products (Proxeed plus？, and PROfertil？). Study Design: The ingredients and their quantities of the three nutriceuticals were listed and compared, and their effectiveness on semen quality was assessed. The probability of conception per month was calculated, as were the numbers needed to treat, and the time to pregnancy, whenever available. Results: All three nutriceuticals improve semen quality. The pregnancy rate per month of Proxeed plus was 3.7%, it was 5% for PROfertile, and 11% when Qualisperm was combined with WHO-recommended treatment of the male partner. The numbers needed to treat were 5.0 (CI:3.58-8.18) for Proxeed plus, 9.4 (CI: 4.46-94.9) for PROfertil, and 2.8 (CI: 1.7-8.7) for Qualisperm added to WHO-recommended treatment. The combination of Proxeed plus with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent Cinnoxicam generated a number needed to treat of 2.9 (CI: 2.32-3.98). The time to pregnancy was reduced to half when combining WHO-recommended treatment with Qualisperm, as compared to either WHO recommended treatment alone, or treatment with Proxeed plus with Cinnoxicam added. In a placebo-controlled double-blind randomised trial of in vitro fertilisation the number needed to treat of Qualisperm, given together with a specific oil to both partners, was 4. Conclusion: Since confounding factors may have influenced the findings of the present comparison, the results should be interpreted with care. It is concluded that all three nutriceuticals may improve fertility, but that the efficiency of Qualisperm is best documented.