Free radicals and reproductive health

Studies performed during the last decades have focused on inflammation and on its involvement in many pathologies. Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species have been put under close scrutiny in order to understand their effects on many biological processes: reproductive health is one of the fields in which research might lead to significant improvements. However, oxidative stress is required in order to achieve male fertility, and supplementation of antioxidants was associated with increased low birth weight: because of this, further studies are needed before confirming the hypothesis that antioxidants are a safe, inexpensive therapy for both male and female infertility.