Abstract
Objective: The study reports the effects of acetone, methanol, and aqueous Kigelia africana extracts on the TM3 Leydig cells.
 Methods: The total phenolic contents were determined using Folin–Ciocalteu’s method. Antioxidant activity was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl assay and flavonoid content assessed using quercetin as standard. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were assessed.
 Results: Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were analyzed. Acetone extracts showed highest total phenolic content (105±3.65 mg gallic acid equivalent [GAE]/g) followed by methanol extracts (10.64±0.32 mg GAE/g) and, last, the water extract with the total phenolic content of 4.27±0.65 mg GAE/g. The same trend was observed with total flavonoid content where results recorded for acetone, methanol, and water extracts were 3.63 ±0.20 mg/g quercetin equivalent (QE), 0.16±0.01 mg QE/g, and 0.01±0.00 mg QE/g, respectively. The three extracts showed lower IC50 values compared to ascorbic acid (0.143±0.05 mg/ml, 0.023±0.004 mg/l, and 0.043±0.03 mg/ml for acetone, methanol, and water extracts, respectively). At 0.5 mg/ml of acetone extract, there was an increase in the testosterone production compared to the control.
 Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that K. africana could be recommended for use in the treatment of male infertility.
Highlights
Medicinal plants are used by millions of people worldwide for alleviation and treatment of various diseases and they have significantly contributed to the improvement of human health [1]
Medicinal plants are believed to contain a wide range of antioxidants such as polyphenols that maintain the physiological levels of free radicals and subsequently protect tissues from detrimental effects of free radical [3]
The results were expressed as gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per gram of dried plant extract
Summary
Medicinal plants are used by millions of people worldwide for alleviation and treatment of various diseases and they have significantly contributed to the improvement of human health [1]. 80% of world population use traditional medicines for primary health care [2]. The use of medicinal plants is profoundly practiced and lot of work is done to verify the efficiency and efficacy of medicinal plant extracts as claimed by traditional practitioners. Medicinal plants are believed to contain a wide range of antioxidants such as polyphenols that maintain the physiological levels of free radicals and subsequently protect tissues from detrimental effects of free radical [3]. 3000 plant species from more than 30,000 higher plant species are used in traditional medicines for the treatment of various conditions [7]. Traditional medicines are important sources of potentially useful new compounds for the development of chemotherapeutic agents [8]
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