Lycopene and male fertility in four clinical studies
What it found
In four clinical studies in men, lycopene supplements modestly improved sperm concentration and nonprogressive motility, but made no clear difference to most other sperm measures.
What they found
Studies in people
Sperm concentration
Lycopene supplementation significantly increased sperm concentration compared with control. The finding held up in sensitivity analyses, though it weakened when one study was removed.
Nonprogressive motility
Lycopene significantly improved nonprogressive sperm motility, based on two studies with 92 men. Mean values were 21.24% in the lycopene group versus 17.62% in the control group.
Total and progressive motility
Total motility showed a positive trend that did not reach statistical significance. Progressive motility showed no significant effect.
Morphology
Lycopene had no significant effect on normal or abnormal sperm morphology. The normal morphology result varied a lot between studies and showed signs of publication bias.
DNA damage and semen volume
Lycopene had no significant effect on sperm DNA damage or semen volume. The two DNA damage studies pointed in opposite directions.
Other findings
Study quality
Two randomized trials had low risk of bias. One trial was open-label with no placebo, and one single-arm study had a serious overall risk of bias.
What the authors conclude
“These findings suggest the potential but limited benefits of lycopene in supporting male fertility.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say lycopene supplementation may modestly improve sperm concentration and nonprogressive motility in men.
- They note that lycopene showed no significant effect on other semen parameters, including progressive motility, morphology, semen volume, and DNA damage.
- They call for larger, high-quality randomized trials with standardized outcome measures to establish definitive clinical recommendations.
How it was done
Male infertility is often linked to low sperm count or poor sperm quality, and oxidative stress is one mechanism that damages sperm. The authors wanted to pull together the evidence on whether lycopene, an antioxidant from tomatoes and watermelon, helps.
They searched four databases for clinical studies of lycopene supplementation and male fertility published up to February 2025. Four clinical studies with 151 men in the UK, Iran, Japan and India were included, with doses from 2 mg/day to 30 mg/day over 3 months.
What it can’t tell you
- Only four small studies with 151 men were included, so the results may not apply to all men.
- Some included studies lacked blinding or a control group, which can make benefits look larger than they are.
- The review cannot show whether lycopene helps couples actually conceive.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Valencia, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Association of Lycopene and Male Reproductive Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Viña I, Viña JR (2025). Association of Lycopene and Male Reproductive Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International journal of molecular sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms26157224Free full textPubMed 40806357DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error