The Role of Antioxidant Minerals in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Endometriosis-Systematic Review.

Endometriosis (EM) is a chronic gynecological disease of women of reproductive age. Due to the lack of a known cause, treatment is limited to reducing symptoms associated with pelvic pain and infertility. The aim was to determine the contribution of minerals and their supplementation to the EM. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The literature was searched in four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar for the keywords 'oxidative stress', 'supplementation', 'trace elements', 'metalloestrogens', 'antioxidants', 'zinc', 'copper', 'manganese', "selenium", 'Zn/Cu' and 'molybdenum' published by the end of June 2025. It turns out that there are significant differences in the biochemical analysis of elements between women with EM and healthy women. Most studies showed decreased zinc levels in women with EM, and copper and molybdenum were usually in comparable amounts, whereas the results for selenium are inconclusive. The lack of direct clinical trials of antioxidant element supplementation, coupled with evidence of differences in their levels between women with EM and healthy women, warrants further, more detailed analysis. Studies should be expanded to include dose-response analyses and potential threshold effects. This will allow for the assessment of the clinical usefulness of supplementation or dietary enrichment as an adjunctive therapeutic approach in the treatment of EM symptoms.