The effect of Eurycoma longifolia on sperm quality of male rats.
Chan KL, Low BS, Teh CH, Das PK.
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800
Penang, Malaysia. klchan@usm.my
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.
PMID: 19911566 [PubMed - in process]
Posts
