Department of Reproductive Health and Biology, Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya.
Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2013;75(2):109-14. doi: 10.1159/000345308. Epub 2012 Dec 11.
The biological effects of khat (Catha edulis) on reproduction and fertility are inadequately investigated and controversial, hence we determined the effects of oral administration of high-dose khat on sperm parameters and male hormonal levels in olive baboons. In this study, 6 male baboons received a high dose of khat (500 g/week) during 1 month. Electroejaculation for sperm studies (concentration, motility and chromatin integrity) and plasma collection for hormonal analysis (testosterone, prolactin and cortisol) were done weekly during 1 month before and 1 month during khat administration as well as 2 weeks after the last dose of khat administration. Administration of khat extract induced a significant reduction in sperm motility (p = 0.008), sperm count (p = 0.041), sperm chromatin integrity (p = 0.0003), testosterone levels (p = 0.035) and prolactin levels (p = 0.0115), but not in cortisol levels and sperm volume (p > 0.05). The results suggest that high-dose khat decreases sperm quality and testosterone and hence may contribute to male infertility.
阿拉伯茶（Catha edulis）对生殖和生育的生物学影响研究不足且存在争议，因此我们确定了口服高剂量阿拉伯茶对雄性橄榄狒狒精子参数和激素水平的影响。在这项研究中，6 只雄性狒狒在 1 个月内接受了高剂量的阿拉伯茶（500 克/周）。在阿拉伯茶给药前 1 个月和给药期间每周进行电刺激取精以进行精子研究（浓度、活力和染色质完整性），并在给药期间每周和最后一次给药后 2 周进行血浆采集以进行激素分析（睾酮、催乳素和皮质醇）。阿拉伯茶提取物的给药显著降低了精子活力（p = 0.008）、精子计数（p = 0.041）、精子染色质完整性（p = 0.0003）、睾酮水平（p = 0.035）和催乳素水平（p = 0.0115），但不影响皮质醇水平和精子体积（p > 0.05）。结果表明，高剂量阿拉伯茶降低了精子质量和睾酮水平，因此可能导致男性不育。
