The prevalence of
female infertility cases has been increasing at a frightening rate, affecting approximately 48 million women across the world. However, oxidative stress has been recognized as one of the main mediators of
female infertility by causing various reproductive pathologies in females such as
endometriosis, PCOS,
preeclampsia,
spontaneous abortion, and unexplained
infertility. Nowadays, concerned women prefer dietary supplements with
antioxidant properties over
synthetic drugs as a natural way to lessen the oxidative stress and enhance their fertility. Therefore, the current review is an attempt to explore the efficacy of various natural
antioxidant compounds including
vitamins,
carotenoids, and plant
polyphenols and also of some medicinal plants in improving the fertility status of females. Our summarization of recent findings in the current article would pave the way toward the development of new possible
antioxidant therapy to treat
infertility in females. Natural
antioxidant compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and other dietary sources, alone or in combination with other
antioxidants, were found to be effective in ameliorating the oxidative stress-mediated
infertility problems in both natural and assisted reproductive settings. Numerous medicinal plants showed promising results in averting the various reproductive disorders associated with
female infertility, suggesting a plant-based herbal medicine to treat
infertility. Although optimum levels of natural
antioxidants have shown favorable results, however, their excessive intake may have adverse health impacts. Therefore, larger well-designed, dose-response studies in humans are further warranted to incorporate natural
antioxidant compounds into the clinical management of
female infertility.