Chan Kit-Lam, Low Bin-Seng, Teh Chin-Hoe, Das Prashanta K
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia.
Nat Prod Commun. 2009 Oct;4(10):1331-6.
The present study investigated the effects of a standardized methanol extract of E. longifolia Jack containing the major quassinoid constituents of 13alpha(21)-epoxyeurycomanone (1), eurycomanone (2), 13alpha,21-dihydroeurycomanone (3) and eurycomanol (4) on the epididymal spermatozoa profile of normal and Andrographis paniculata induced infertile rats. The standardized MeOH extract at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, the EtOAc fraction (70 mg/kg), and standardized MeOH extract at 200 mg/kg co-administered with the EtOAc fraction of A. paniculata at 70 mg/kg were each given orally to male Sprague-Dawley albino rats for 48 consecutive days. The spermatozoa count, morphology, motility, plasma testosterone level and Leydig cell count of the animals were statistically analyzed by ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey HSD test. The results showed that the sperm count of rats given the standardized MeOH extract alone at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg were increased by 78.9, 94.3 and 99.2%, respectively when compared with that of control (p < 0.01). The low count, poor motility and abnormal morphology of the spermatozoa induced by the A. paniculata fraction were significantly reversed by the standardized MeOH extract of E. longifolia (p < 0.001). The plasma testosterone level of the rats treated with the standardized MeOH extract at 200 mg/kg was significantly increased (p < 0.01) when compared with that of the control and infertile animals. The spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubules and the Leydig cells appeared normal. Testosterone level was significantly higher in the testes (p < 0.01) than in the plasma after 30 days of oral treatment with the standardized MeOH extract. Interestingly, eurycomanone (2) alone was detected in the rat testis homogenates by HPLC-UV and confirmed by LC/MS, and may have contributed towards the improvement of sperm quality. Thus, the plant may potentially be suitable for the management of male infertility.
本研究调查了含有主要苦味素成分13α(21)-环氧刺蒺藜酮(1)、刺蒺藜酮(2)、13α,21-二氢刺蒺藜酮(3)和刺蒺藜醇(4)的长叶刺蒺藜标准化甲醇提取物对正常大鼠和穿心莲诱导的不育大鼠附睾精子特征的影响。将剂量为50、100和200mg/kg的标准化甲醇提取物、乙酸乙酯部位(70mg/kg)以及200mg/kg的标准化甲醇提取物与70mg/kg穿心莲乙酸乙酯部位联合给药，分别对雄性Sprague-Dawley白化大鼠连续口服48天。通过方差分析和事后Tukey HSD检验对动物的精子计数、形态、活力、血浆睾酮水平和睾丸间质细胞计数进行统计学分析。结果表明，与对照组相比，单独给予剂量为50、100和200mg/kg标准化甲醇提取物的大鼠精子计数分别增加了78.9%、94.3%和99.2%(p<0.01)。长叶刺蒺藜标准化甲醇提取物显著逆转了穿心莲部位诱导的精子计数低、活力差和形态异常(p<0.001)。与对照组和不育动物相比，给予200mg/kg标准化甲醇提取物处理的大鼠血浆睾酮水平显著升高(p<0.01)。曲细精管中的精母细胞和睾丸间质细胞外观正常。口服标准化甲醇提取物30天后，睾丸中的睾酮水平显著高于血浆(p<0.01)。有趣的是，通过HPLC-UV在大鼠睾丸匀浆中检测到单独的刺蒺藜酮(2)，并经LC/MS确认，其可能有助于精子质量的改善。因此，该植物可能潜在适用于男性不育症的治疗。
