Endocrine Abstracts

Infertility has become a real public health problem because of its increasing prevalence, widespread distribution, and the difficulties inherent in its management. Male factor infertility is thought to be the cause of up to 50% of all infertilities across the world. In some parts of Africa and from time immemorial, a wide variety of plants are of great medicinal importance. Many plant extracts have been used as fertility agents in folklore and traditional medicines to enhance fertility, producing results similar to that of Zinc. According to research. Newbouldia laevis (NL) extract could act as an adjunct that can inhibit or promote hormonal imbalances in males at certain dosages as exemplified in the experimental animal models. The research aimed at determining the comparative effect of Zinc and graded doses of NL on male fertility. The thirty-six male Wistar rats weighing between 55 - 125g were used for the research. The rats were randomly assigned into 6 groups of 5 rats each and treated with normal saline, Zinc, N. Laevis low dose for a short-term (LS), high dose short-term (HS), low dose long-term (LL), and high dose long-term (HL). Results revealed that at high doses NL impacted negatively on the semen parameters specifically the motility and count of sperm cells irrespective of the duration of treatment, however, the germinal epithelial cell population was unaffected. The testosterone levels were initially impacted but the gonads recovered with long-term treatments. The FSH levels were reduced in all groups treated with NL. This was further appreciated in the number of pubs from each group. Mating with the long-term NL yielded more pubs. The research concludes that moderate use of NL extract for a longer period may have possible beneficial effects on the male fertility potential.

Keywords: Newbouldia laevis, testes, Zinc, Fertility potential, reproductive hormones