Sperm quality and testicular histopathology of Wistar albino male rats treated with hydroethanolic extract of fruits.

CONTEXT

Forst. (Boraginaceae) has potent pharmacological impact. Meanwhile, its effect on fertility is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the effect of fresh fruits hydroethanolic extract on fertility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

120 Wistar albino male rats were divided into four groups ( = 30). The first group was negative control, and the second, third, and fourth groups received 125, 250, and 500 mg extract/kg bodyweight for 56 days. After 56 days, force-feeding stopped, and all groups were kept under laboratory conditions for another month to study the recovering effect.

RESULTS

After day 56, extract at 500 mg/kg significantly reduced sperm total count, motility%, and alive%, to 47.60 ± 2.27 × 10 sperm/mL, 43.33% ± 1.49, and 63.67% ± 1.19, respectively, abnormalities% increased considerably (26.67% ± 0.54), compared to the negative control. Also, significant depletion on follicle-stimulating hormone (2.66 ± 0.21 mIU/L), luteinizing hormone (1.07 ± 0.06 mIU/L), and testosterone (2.69 ± 0.13 nmol/L) level was recorded, compared to the negative control. negative effect showed on histopathological studies of testes, prostate, and seminal vesicles. Fortunately, these adverse effects of recovered remarkably after stopping administration for one month.

CONCLUSIONS

antifertility effect may be due to its hypocholesterolemic effect, where cholesterol, the steroid cycle precursor, was significantly reduced. This study can be incorporated in clinical research after being repeated on another small experimental animal, their offspring, and one large experimental animal, then going to a clinical study that we plan to do in the future.