Low Dose Earth Ball (Icacina mannii) may be Beneficial to Reproductive Health in Males

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of ethanolic extract of Earth ball (Icacina mannii) tuber on the testes. Icacina mannii is a well-known plant in Africa due to its unique ball-shaped underground tuber. The extract was prepared by washing the tuber, cutting it into pieces, sun drying it, and extracting it with 80% ethanol. Four-week-old male Wistar rats were used in the experiment and were randomly assigned to four groups. Group A served as the control and received distilled water, while groups B, C, and D received low, intermediate, and high doses of the extract, respectively. The rats were fed for 28 days. On the twenty-eighth day, the animals' final weight was taken, and blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture for testosterone level analysis. The testes were recovered for histology. The results showed a significant increase in testosterone level in the low and medium dose groups and a significant decrease in the high dose group when compared with the control. The histologic section of the testes of rats in groups B and C revealed hypochromic sections of seminiferous tubules with swollen germinal cells and spermatogenic lining cells and irregular alignment of myoid cells when compared to the control group. The testicular histologic section of rats in group D showed atrophied and necrotic testicular cells. This study shows that Icacina mannii tuber could be a potential plant for research in the management of infertility in men due to testosterone deficiency, but high doses could be necrotic and atrophic to the testes.