Preliminary antifertility activity of Bambusa vulgaris leaf extract in male wistar rats

The aqueous extract of the leaf of Bambusa vulgaris is used in ethnomedicine as an antifertility agent in man. This study aimed at validating or disproving this folkloric use by evaluating the effect of 50 % methanolic extract on sperm concentration and some male reproductive hormones in rats after 14 and 28- day administration. Male wistar rats were administered with 250 and 500 mg/kg of the extract for 14 and 28 days and were sacrificed at the end of these days separately. They were evaluated for sperm concentration, motility, testosterone (T), leutinizing (LH) and follicle stimulating hormones (FSH), and histology of the testes was also carried out. Two groups of six rats each administered with 250 mg/kg for 28 days were left for the next 14 and 28 days, respectively and sperm concentration and motility were evaluated for probable reversal of activity. The same was repeated for those two groups administered with 500 mg/kg extract. There were 42 and 31 % reduction in sperm count at 14 and 28 days respectively, in rats administered with 250 mg/kg while at 500 mg/kg dose, the percentage reduction in sperm count was 60 % at both 14 and 28 days. There was almost a complete reversal of activity 14 days after cessation of treatment. The result justified the ethnomedicinal claim of the use of B. vulgaris leaf as an antifertility agent. Keywords: Bamboo, sperm, contraception, fertility, hormone