Barbary Wolfberry Fruit (Fructus Lycii)

Chemical composition:
Wolfberries, sometimes called wolfberries, are perhaps the most nutritionally dense fruit on the planet. wolf berries contain 18 kinds of amino acids (six times higher than beepollen) and contain all 8 essential amino acids (such as isoleucine and tryptophan). Goji berries contain up to 21 trace minerals (the main ones being zinc, iron, copper,calcium, germanium, selenium, and phosphorus). wolfberries are the richest source of carotenoids, including beta-carotene (more beta carotene than carrots), of all known foods or plants on earth! They contain 500 times the amount of vitamin C, by weight, than oranges making them second only to camu camu berries as the richest vitamin C source on earth. wolfberries also contain vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E. Mature fruits contain about 11 mg or iron per 100 grams, beta-sisterol (an anti-inflammatoryagent), linoleicacid(afattyacid), sesquiterpenoids (cyperone,solavetivone), tetraterpenoids (zeaxanthin, physalin), and betaine (0.1%). Goji berries contain polysaccharides which fortify the immune system. A polysaccharide found in this fruit has been found to be a powerful secretagogue (a substance that stimulates the secretion of rejuvenative human growth hormone by the pituitary gland).

Research:
‘Infertility in 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR)-Deficient Male Mice Is Partially Alleviated by Lifetime Dietary Betaine’ Tamara L.J. Kelly, Oana R. Neaga, Bernd C. Schwahn, Rima Rozen, and Jacquetta M. Trasler Biology of Reproduction Article: pp. 667–677 | Metabolism of folate is essential for proper cellular function. Within the folate pathway, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) reduces 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, a methyl donor for remethylation of homocysteine to methionine, the precursor of S-adenosylmethionine. S-adenosylmethionine is the methyl donor for numerous cellular reactions. In adult male mice, MTHFR levels are highest in the testis; this finding, in conjunction with recent clinical evidence, suggest an important role for MTHFR in spermatogenesis. Indeed, we show here that severe MTHFR deficiency in male mice results in abnormal spermatogenesis and infertility. Maternal oral administration of betaine, an alternative methyl donor, throughout pregnancy and nursing, resulted in improved testicular histology in Mthfr-/- offspring at Postnatal Day 6, but not at 8 mo of age. However, when betaine supplementation was maintained postweaning, testicular histology improved, and sperm numbers and fertility increased significantly. We postulate that the adverse effects of MTHFR deficiency on spermatogenesis, may, in part, be mediated by alterations in the transmethylation pathway and suggest that betaine supplementation may provide a means to bypass MTHFR deficiency and its adverse effects on spermatogenesis by maintaining normal methylation levels within male germ cells.

Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum (Pilose antler)

Chemical composition:
Deer velvet contains pantocrinum lecithin, lipids,oestrone, prostaglandin,nucleotide, choline,vitamins,enzymes,twenty five different amino acids,)alanine, arganine.

Research:
Arginine is an amino acid found in many foods; it is needed to produce sperm. Most research shows that several months of arginine supplementation increases sperm count and quality8 9 and also fertility.10 11
8.De Aloysio D, Mantuano R, Mauloni M, Nicoletti G. The clinical use of arginine aspartate in male infertility. Acta Eur Fertil 1982;13:133–67.
9. Tanimura J. Studies on arginine in human semen. Part II. The effects of medication with L-arginine-HCl on male infertility. Bull Osaka Med School 1967;13:84–89.
10. Schacter A, Goldman JA, Zukerman Z. Treatment of oligospermia with the amino acid arginine. J Urol 1973;110:311–13.
11. Schacter A et al. Treatment of oligospermia with the amino acid arginine. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 1973;11:206–9.

Chinese Angelica (Radix Angelicae Sinensis)

Chemical composition:
Ferulic acid, ligustilide, angelicide, brefeldin A, butyphthalide, butylidenephthalide, succinic acid, nicotinic acid, uracil and adenine were isolated from the roots of Angelica sinensis. Additional constituents were essential oil. They are a -pinene, myrcene, limonene, verbenone,copaene, ß-farnesene, ß-selinene, and a- and ß-cardinene. n-Butylidene phthaliele, Valerophenone- O-carboxylic acid, 2,4-dihydrophthalic anhydridDihydrophthalic anhydride, ligustilide, angelica ketone and carvacrol are in the essential oil. N-butylidene phthalide is responsible for the characteristic fragrance of the oil. Other chemical constituents, such as ß-sitosterol, stigmasterol, succinic acid, nicofinic acid, folinic acid, amino acids, scopletin and trace elements present in the roots of this plant

Research:
Zheng R-L and Zhang H. 1997. Effects of ferulic acid on fertile and asthenozoospermic infertile human sperm motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, and cyclic nucleotides. Free Rad Biol & Med 22(4):581-6.
The capacity of human sperm fertilization principally depends on sperm motility and membrane integrity. Reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, are known to impair sperm motility and membrane integrity by inducing membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO). Ferulic acid, an effective constituent in various medicinal herbs, has recently been shown to scavenge oxygen free radicals and increase the intracellular cAMP and cGMP. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of ferulic acid on human sperm motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, and cyclic nucleotides in fertile and asthenozoospermic infertile individuals in vitro. The results showed: in both fertile and infertile spermatozoa, the viability, trans-membrane migration ratio (TMMR) and the levels of intracellular cAMP and cGMP in ferulic acid -treated spermatozoa were significantly higher than those of spermatozoa in control groups, while TBA-reactive substances contents in treated spermatozoa were significantly lower than those in control spermatozoa. The effects of ferulic acid on these processes were concentration dependent. These data suggested that ferulic acid is beneficial to sperm viability and motility in both fertile and infertile individuals, and that reduction of lipid peroxidative damage to sperm membranes and increase of intracellular cAMP and cGMP may be involved in these benefits. It is possible that ferulic acid may be used for cure of asthenozoospermic infertility.

Chinese Magnolcavine Fruit (Schisandra Chinensis)

Chemical composition:
Research into the active ingredients is primarily focused on the various lignans and essential oils contained in the dried fruits of Schizandrae. The major chemical constituents include, schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, schisanhenol, schizandrol, sesquicarene, ß-chamigrene, citral, stigmasterol, and vitamins C and E.

Research:
Vitamin C, Protects sperm from oxidative damage Fraga CG, Motchnik PA, Shigenaga MK, et all. Ascorbic acid protects against endogenous oxidative DNA damage in human sperm. Proc Natl Acad Sci 1991;88:11003-6.
Supplementing vitamin C improves the quality of sperm in smokers Dawson EB, Harris WA, Teter MC, Powell LC.
Effect of ascorbic acid supplementation on the sperm quality of smokers. Fertil Steril 1992;58:1034-9.
Effect of ascorbic acid on sperm fertility.Dawson EB, Harris WA, McGanity WJ. Fed Proc 1983;42:531 [abstr 31403].
When sperm stick together (a condition called agglutination), fertility is reduced. Vitamin C reduces sperm agglutination

Plantain Seed (Semen Plantaginis)

Chemical composition:
It contains iridoids (such as aucubin, also found in Euphrasia species), flavonoids (including apigenin), tannins, plant acids, and mucilage.

Research:
“A Brief Discussion of 35 Cases of Asthenospermia Treated by Qiang Jing Jian (Strengthen the Essence Decoction)” by Sun Jie-ping, Jiang Su Zhong Yi (Jiangsu Chinese Medicine), #11, 1993, p. 14
In this clinical audit, 35 men were treated Chinese herbal medicine for infertility due to asthenospermia. The formula used, Qiang Jing Jian, was comprised of: cooked Radix Rehmanniae (Shu Di), Radix Dioscoreae Oppositae (Shan Yao), Fructus Corni Officinalis (Shan Zhu Yu), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), and Fructus Lycii Chinensis (Gou Ji Zi), 12g each, Placenta Hominis (Zi He Che), mix-fried Bombyx Batryticatus (Jiang Can), and dried Lumbricus (Di Long), 15g each, Herba CistanchisDeserticolae (Rou Cong Rong) and Cornu Cervi (Lu Jiao Pian), 10g each.
After treatment with Qiang Jing Jian, of the 35 cases with less than class II sperm motility, 27 had between class II-III motility. Of the 25 cases who had had a motility rate below 50%, 18 cases had a motility rate in excess of 60%.
‘Increasing Sperm Motility with Chinese Medicine’ abstracted & translated by Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., Lic. Ac.,FNAAOM, FRCHM
The 18 patients in this study were 24-45 years of age and all had been diagnosed with dead sperm. Among these, eight were infertile. All 18 patients were treated with Yi Shen ShengJing Tang which consisted of: Herba Epimedii(Xian Ling Pi), cooked Radix Rehmanniae (ShuDi), and Herba Cistanchis Deserticolae (Rou Cong Rong), 15g each, Semen CuscutaeChinensis (Tu Si Zi) and Fructus Lycii Chinensis (Gou Qi Zi), 20g each, Radix Astragal iMembranacei (Huang Qi), 30g, and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), 10g. If there was damp heatpouring downward, 15 grams each of Rhizoma Dioscoreae Hypoglaucae (Bi Xie) and Semen Plntaginis (Che Qian Zi) and 30 grams of Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae (Tu Fu Ling) wereadded. Cure was defined as a 70% or more increase in live sperm and good sperm motility. Some effect was defined as a 60-70% increase in live sperm although sperm motility may have been still a bit slow. No effect meant that there were 40% or more dead sperm and sperm motility was weak. Based on these criteria, seven cases were judged cured, eight cases got some effect, and three cases got no effect.