Effects of Spondias mombin leaf extracts on testicular histology and semen characteristics of prepubertal (juvenile) Wistar rats

Abstract

Introduction: Spondias Mombin is an Anacardiaceae reported in folklore to be a useful therapeutic agent for some reproduction-related issues. This work seeks to explore, preliminarily, the fertility potentials of Spondias Mombin extracts on juvenile Wistar rats. Methods: One hundred pre-pubertal male Wistar rats divided into four treatment groups were studied for testicular histology, semen evaluation and haematocrit following oral administration of 800mg/kg Body weight (BW) of ethyl acetate (A), isopropanol (B) and methanol (C) Spondias mombin leaf ex-tracts and propylene glycol (D) for 35 days. Five rats were sacrificed from each group every seven days of extract administration for the aforementioned evaluations using standard methods. Results: Body weights increased markedly from week 1 to week 3 in all the groups and the weight gain continued with the Isopropanol (ISP) group till week 5 (48.00±10.36g) in contrast to fluctuations ob-served in other groups. All extract-treated groups had peak Packed Cell Volume (PCV) at week 2 with highest (54.00±3.16) seen in methanol (METH) group. All the groups experienced transition from azoospermia at week 1 to sexual maturity by week 5 as evidenced by progressive increase in the spermatozoa parameters evaluated. At week two, the EA group was the only group with motility score (67.00±5.38%) suggestive of puberty attainment. Normal histology was observed in testes and epididymides in all groups after 5 weeks of extract administration. Significance: Ethyl acetate leaf extract of Spondias mombin appeared to fast track attainment of puberty in Wistar rat at 800mg/kg BW. The plant’s leaf methanol extract at the same concentration appeared to boost PCV and promote fertility in Wistar rats significantly.