{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T01:15:57Z","timestamp":1784855757482,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]],"date-time":"2024-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713398400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]],"date-time":"2024-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713398400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"Halic University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Reprod. Sci."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements can increase sperm quality. This study aimed to summarize the available evidence about the effects of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements on sperm quality and reproductive hormones in infertile men. Systematic searches of five databases were conducted from inception to October 20, with the last update on November 20, 2023. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements with nonintervention control groups on infertile man. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2. Summary effect size measures were calculated using a random-effects model estimation and are reported as standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Reporting followed the PRISMA guidelines. The analysis included four studies involving 236 infertile men. It was found that sperm motility of infertile men improved after carob intervention (MD:11.30, 95% CI:5.97 to 16.64, Z\u2009=\u20094.15, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&lt;\u20090.00001), and there was a significant difference compared to control groups. The effect size of carob on semen quantity in infertile men was positive, and the relationship was statistically significant (MD:5.42, 95% CI:1.58 to 9.42, Z\u2009=\u20092.77, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.006). When hormone parameters of infertile men were analyzed, the MDA (malondialdehyde) value decreased compared to the control group (MD\u2009=\u2009-4.81, 95% CI: -10.18 to 0.56, Z\u2009=\u20091.76, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.08), and there was a significant difference between them. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) supplements was associated with improvement in sperm quality compared with nonintervention control groups in infertile man. However, high-quality, larger RCTs are required to draw more definitive conclusions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]],"date-time":"2024-04-18T16:02:05Z","timestamp":1713456125000},"page":"2481-2492","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Effect of Carob (Ceratonia Siliqua) on Sperm Parameters of Infertile Men: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1134-9016","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aysu Y\u0131ld\u0131z","family":"Karaahmet","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9906-4888","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuran","family":"Gen\u00e7t\u00fcrk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5701-4046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emine","family":"K\u0131n\u0131k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"1534_CR1","unstructured":"World Health Organization. Infertility prevalence estimates: 1990\u20132021.\u00a02023.\u00a0https:\/\/www.who.int\/publications\/i\/item\/978920068315. Accessed 31.10.2023."},{"key":"1534_CR2","unstructured":"American Urological Association. Male infertility. 2020.\u00a0https:\/\/www.auanet.org\/meetings-and-education\/for-medical-students\/medical-students-curriculum\/male-infertility.\u00a0Accessed 23.10.2023."},{"issue":"2","key":"1534_CR3","first-page":"74","volume":"15","author":"N Roozbeh","year":"2021","unstructured":"Roozbeh N, Amirian A, Abdi F, Haghdoost S. A systematic review on use of medicinal plants for male infertility treatment. J Family Reprod Health. 2021;15(2):74.","journal-title":"J Family Reprod Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"1534_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-023-00459-w","volume":"9","author":"ML Eisenberg","year":"2023","unstructured":"Eisenberg ML, Esteves SC, Lamb DJ, Hotaling JM, Giwercman A, Hwang K, Cheng YS. Male infertility. Nature Rev Disease Prim. 2023;9(1):49.","journal-title":"Nature Rev Disease Prim"},{"issue":"1","key":"1534_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s13104-017-2697-3","volume":"10","author":"F Abdi","year":"2017","unstructured":"Abdi F, Roozbeh N, Mortazavian AM. Effects of date palm pollen on fertility: research proposal for a systematic review. BMC Res Notes. 2017;10(1):1\u20134.","journal-title":"BMC Res Notes"},{"issue":"2","key":"1534_CR6","first-page":"104","volume":"24","author":"A Vafaei","year":"2018","unstructured":"Vafaei A, Mohammadi S, Fazel A, Soukhtanloo M, Mohammadipour A, Beheshti F. Effects of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) on sperm quality, testicular structure, testosterone level and oxidative stress in busulfan-induced infertile mice. Pharmaceut Sci. 2018;24(2):104\u201311.","journal-title":"Pharmaceut Sci"},{"issue":"3","key":"1534_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.4995\/wrs.2018.10154","volume":"26","author":"A Ata","year":"2018","unstructured":"Ata A, Yildiz-Gulay O, G\u00fcng\u00f6r S, Balic A, Gulay MS. The effect of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) bean extract on male New Zealand White rabbit semen. World Rabbit Sci. 2018;26(3):209\u201315.","journal-title":"World Rabbit Sci"},{"issue":"3","key":"1534_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"766","DOI":"10.1007\/s43032-020-00314-3","volume":"28","author":"MMR Aghajani","year":"2021","unstructured":"Aghajani MMR, Mahjoub S, Mojab F, Namdari M, Gorji NM, Dashtaki A, Mirabi P. Comparison of the effect of Ceratonia siliqua L.(carob) syrup and vitamin E on sperm parameters, oxidative stress index, and sex hormones in infertile men: A randomized controlled trial. Reprod Sci. 2021;28(3):766\u201374.","journal-title":"Reprod Sci"},{"issue":"4","key":"1534_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"791","DOI":"10.1515\/jcim-2020-0095","volume":"18","author":"S Sanagoo","year":"2021","unstructured":"Sanagoo S, Farshbaf-Khalili A, Asgharian P, Hazhir S, Oskouei BS. Comparison of the effect of Ceratonia siliqua L. fruit oral capsule and vitamin E on semen parameters in men with idiopathic infertility: a triple-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. J Complement Integr Med. 2021;18(4):791\u20136.","journal-title":"J Complement Integr Med"},{"issue":"3","key":"1534_CR10","first-page":"142","volume":"17","author":"S Pilehvari","year":"2023","unstructured":"Pilehvari S, Bahar TG, Masoumi SZ, Kazemi F, Moradkhani S, Haghi AR, Maleki P. Effect of carob supplement on spermogram parameters and sexual function of infertile men referred to the Infertility Center, Hamadan, Iran, 2019: a randomized controlled trial. J Fam Reprod Health. 2023;17(3):142\u201350.","journal-title":"J Fam Reprod Health."},{"key":"1534_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100805","DOI":"10.1016\/j.hermed.2023.100805","volume":"42","author":"M Ahmadian","year":"2023","unstructured":"Ahmadian M, Salari R, Noras MR, Ahmadnia H, Esmaily H, Bahrami-Taghanaki HR. Comparison of the Effect of Carob Capsule and acupuncture on Sperm Motility, in Idiopathic Male Infertility: A Randomised Controlled Trial. J Herbal Med. 2023;42:100805.","journal-title":"J Herbal Med"},{"key":"1534_CR12","unstructured":"Micheletti C, Medori MC, Bonetti G, Iaconelli A, Aquilanti B, Matera G, Bertelli M. Effects of carob extract on the intestinal microbiome and glucose metabolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis. La Clinica Terapeutica, 2023;174(Suppl 2(6)):169\u2013172."},{"issue":"4","key":"1534_CR13","first-page":"452","volume":"10","author":"MMR Aghajani","year":"2019","unstructured":"Aghajani MMR, Gorji NM, Mirabi P, Mojab F. Effect of Ceratonia siliqua (Carob) syrup and vitamin E on sperm parameters, oxidative stress index and sex hormones in infertile men: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Caspian J Intern Med. 2019;10(4):452.","journal-title":"Caspian J Intern Med"},{"issue":"1","key":"1534_CR14","first-page":"35","volume":"10","author":"A Soleimanzadeh","year":"2020","unstructured":"Soleimanzadeh A, Kian M, Moradi S, Mahmoudi S. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) fruit hydro-alcoholic extract alleviates reproductive toxicity of lead in male mice: Evidence on sperm parameters, sex hormones, oxidative stress biomarkers and expression of Nrf2 and iNOS. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2020;10(1):35.","journal-title":"Avicenna J Phytomed"},{"key":"1534_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ghorbaninejad Z, Eghbali A, Ghorbaninejad M, Ayyari M, Zuchowski J, Kowalczyk M,\u00a0Baharvand H, Shahverdi A, Eftekhari-Yazdi P, Esfandiari F. Carob extract induces spermatogenesis in an infertile mouse model via upregulation of Prm1, Plzf, Bcl-6b, Dazl, Ngn3, Stra8, and Smc1b. J Ethnopharmacol.\u00a02023;301:115760.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jep.2022.115760"},{"key":"1534_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106967","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anireprosci.2022.106967","volume":"239","author":"Z Nemati","year":"2022","unstructured":"Nemati Z, Dehgani P, Besharati M, Amirdahri S. Dietary carob fruit (Ceratonia siliqua L.) supplementation improves spermatogenesis, semen quality and embryonic death via antioxidant effect in aging broiler breeder roosters. Animal Reprod Sci. 2022;239:106967.","journal-title":"Animal Reprod Sci"},{"issue":"1","key":"1534_CR17","first-page":"7","volume":"3","author":"N ElAkhdar","year":"2020","unstructured":"ElAkhdar N, Bawab R, Borjac J. Effect of Ceratonia siliqua and Cucurbita pepo seeds extracts on spermatogenesis in male mice. Beirut Arab Univ J-Health Wellbeing. 2020;3(1):7.","journal-title":"Beirut Arab Univ J-Health Wellbeing"},{"key":"1534_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s43043-019-0007-9","volume":"24","author":"A Faramarzi","year":"2020","unstructured":"Faramarzi A, Aghaz F, Bakhtiari M, Khazaei M. In vitro application of Ceratonia siliqua improved sperm parameters and chromatin quality after vitrifacation in normozoospermic aged men. Middle East Fertil Soc J. 2020;24:1\u20135.","journal-title":"Middle East Fertil Soc J"},{"key":"1534_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Javanmard F, Bidmeshkipour A, Ghasemian Yadegari J. Ceratonia siliqua L improved cryodamage of asthenozoospermic specimens: an experimental study. Intl J Reprod Biomed. 2023;20(12):1029\u20131038. Published 2023 Jan 9. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/ijrm.v20i12.12564","DOI":"10.18502\/ijrm.v20i12.12564"}],"container-title":["Reproductive Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,30]],"date-time":"2024-07-30T10:08:41Z","timestamp":1722334121000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,8]]}},"alternative-id":["1534"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s43032-024-01534-7","relation":{},"ISSN":["1933-7191","1933-7205"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1933-7191","type":"print"},{"value":"1933-7205","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,18]]},"assertion":[{"value":"11 March 2024","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"30 March 2024","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"18 April 2024","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors confirm that this article content has no conflicts of interest.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Conflicts of interest\/Competing interests"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":5,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"This study is a meta-analysis study. There is no need for The Human Investigation Committee (IRB) for meta-analysis studies.The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO ID: CRD42023420489).","order":6,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethical approval"}}]}}