Abstract
From ancient times in many parts of the world, herbal medications have been used for the treatment of various ailments. Mucuna pruriens is a leguminous plant that has various medicinal purposes. Literature reports state that it enhances normal fertility, healthy sperm and ova, proper functioning of the reproductive organs and appropriate genital secretions. This present study was done to study the effects of the aqueous leaf extract of M. pruriens on reproductive outcome in adult female Wistar rats. Twenty-four adult Wistar rats were used for this research. These animals were randomly divided into four groups of six (6) rats each. The animals were weighed before commencement and during the period of the experiment. All animals received water and feed ad libitum. Group A served as control. Groups B and C received 500mg and 1500mg/kg bodyweight of extract respectively for 10days before mating. Group D comprised of the male animals used for mating the females. After littering, the pups were counted and weighed. The statistical apparatus used for analyzing the data was IBM/SPSS version 20 and the method employed was ANOVA. Results were taken to be statistically significant when P<0.05. Group B showed no significant increase (P>0.05) in bodyweight change of dams as well as in pup weight. Group C on the other hand showed a significant increase (P<0.05) both in the bodyweight change of dams but not in pup weight. A dose dependent increase in reproductive outcome and pregnancy success rate was observed in animals of group B and C. Findings from this study indicate that Mucuna pruriens has pro-fertility potential. It is therefore safe to administer extract in experimental animals to enhance their reproductive ability.Keyword: Mucuna pruriens, reproductive outcome, fertility, litter size
Highlights
Human use of plants date back from fossil records to the middle Paleolithic age, some 60,000 years ago
Change in Body weight: The change between the initial and final body weight of dams in the showed no significant increase (P>0.055) for rats treated with 500mg/kg body weight of Mucuna pruriens (MP) for 10days before mating when compared to control
There was significant increase (P
Summary
Human use of plants date back from fossil records to the middle Paleolithic age, some 60,000 years ago. Mucuna pruriens (L) is an important specie that was first discovered about 4500 years ago in India for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The plant is used against a wide range of conditions which include neurological, menstrual disorders, urinary tract problems, fever, ulcers and constipation. It is useful as a hypoglycemic, vermifuge, anti-. The use of herbs in the treatment of infertility as well as other diseases is attributed to the high cost of synthetic drugs, previous notion that herbal medicines are safe and due to the belief that there is an unscientific cause to such diseases (Fido, 2004; Canter and Ernst, 2004; Qato et al, 2008; Loya et al, 2009; Cohen and Ernst, 2010)
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