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Fertility Supplement Shows Early Promise: Report
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By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A dietary supplement containing
a mixture of herbs, vitamins and amino acids thought to
boost fertility may help some women conceive, a small pilot
study suggests.
Researchers found that among 15 women who had been unable to
conceive, who took the supplement every day, four became
pregnant by the end of the three-month study. That compares
with none of 15 women with fertility problems who took
inactive pills. A fifth woman in the supplement group who
continued taking the product after the study ended became
pregnant two months later.
Women's fertility problems can have a range of causes, and
from the small study it's difficult to tell which women
might benefit from the supplement, the study's lead author,
Dr. Lynn M. Westphal of Stanford University School of
Medicine, told Reuters Health.
However, she speculated that women with irregular menstrual
cycles stand the greatest chance of benefit.
The supplement, sold as FertilityBlend, contains an herb
called chasteberry, which studies in Europe suggest can
balance levels of the hormone progesterone and possibly
improve ovulation. Chasteberry has also been shown to help
relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, another
indication of its possible hormonal effects.
Westphal said she thinks the chasteberry component of
FertilityBlend is the most important ingredient. The product
also contains a mix of vitamins and minerals, green tea
extract and the amino acid L-arginine, which some evidence
suggests can improve blood flow to the reproductive organs.
The study, reported in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine,
involved 30 women ages 24 to 46 who had been trying to
conceive for 6 months to 3 years. It received funding from
Sunnyvale, California-based Daily Wellness Co., which
manufactures FertilityBlend. One study co-author is employed
by the company, and another serves on its scientific
advisory board.
A fertility specialist not involved in the study said the
research is "very preliminary," and more work is needed to
prove the product is effective.
"You wouldn't want to draw any hard conclusions based on
this," Dr. William Phipps, a reproductive
endocrinologist at the University of Rochester in New
York, told Reuters Health.
Still, he called the study "well-designed," and said the
early results warrant further research.
Westphal and her colleagues found that after three months of
taking three supplement capsules each day, women in the
study showed an increase in progesterone levels toward the
end of the menstrual cycle. Those who took a placebo showed
no such change.
Sufficient progesterone is needed to prepare the uterine
lining for the implantation of the embryo. Of the women who
became pregnant in this study, two initially had abnormally
low progesterone levels, Westphal's team notes. Overall,
four of the women gave birth to healthy babies, while one
had a miscarriage.
According to Westphal, the supplement may be appropriate for
younger women who are early on in their attempt to get
pregnant. If they do not conceive after more than six months
of trying, she said, they should consider a fertility
evaluation.
Like all dietary supplements sold in the U.S.,
FertilityBlend did not have to be proven safe or effective
before going on the market.
Based on the pilot study, Westphal and her colleagues are
conducting a larger clinical trial to see if the supplement
helps women with low progesterone levels or menstrual
irregularities.
SOURCE: Journal of Reproductive Medicine, April 2004.