Aqueous extract of the Bark of Kigelia africana reverses early testicular damage induced by methanol extract of Carica Papaya

Abstract

An experiment was designed to test whether extracts from Kigelia africana have beneficial effect on male fertility following exposure to Carica papaya, a known testicular toxin. Forty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 185–220g were used for the study. The dose of Kigelia africana and Carica papaya extracts used for all treated animals was 50mg/kg body weight orally through a metal oropharyngeal cannula. The first group of animals (n = 8) had 1.5ml of distilled water daily orally for 12 weeks. The second group (n = 8) received extract of Carica papaya for 10 weeks followed by Kigelia for another 10 weeks. The third group (n = 8) received the Papaya extract for the first four weeks and then had Kigelia added for another 12 weeks. The fourth group (n = 8) had both extracts orally daily for 12 weeks. The fifth group had 50mg/kg body weight of the extract of Carica papaya for four weeks and animals were observed for another 12 weeks, while the sixth group had only Kigelia extract for 12 weeks. At the end of the experiment, animals were sacrificed, cauda epididymes removed for semen analysis and trunk blood collected for plasma testosterone estimation. The results suggest that Kigelia africana extract if given within 4 weeks of treatment with Carica papaya reversed the deleterious effects on semen parameters, whereas if given after 10 weeks, the damage remains unreversed. When both extracts are given from the beginning, semen parameters remain very poor. Our data suggest that Kigelia africana is able to reverse papaya induced testicular damage if administered within a certain window period.


Key Words: Kigelia africana, Carica papaya, testicular damage.


Nig. J. Health and Biomed. Sciences Vol.2(2) 2003: 87-89