The effects of crude extract of Amaranthus hybridus (000059604) on reproductive parameters of the male Wistar rats

Abstract

Studies on Amaranthus hybridus (AH) have established its antioxidant properties. This study investigated the effects of AH on some reproductive parameters of forty-five sexually matured Albino rats (Wistar Strain) males. Amaranthus hybridus has been reported to have several protective and curative properties attributed majorly to strong antioxidant activity. They were randomly grouped into 3 with each group consisting of 15 rats. Group A received (per Os) Amaranthus hybridus (50mg/kg body weight) and group B had Amaranthus hybridus (100mg/kg body weight for 7 days. Group C (control) received distilled water for 7 days. Blood and semen samples were collected for analyses on day 1,8,15 and 22 post-treatments. The results showed that the sperm motility of group B in day 1, (2.00± 2.00%) rat was significantly lower (p < 0.001) than that of group C (26.00 ± 7.97%), whereas it was greatly improved in Group B (85.00 ± 4.47%) and Group A (60.00 ±4.47%) at the day 22 posttreatment. Livability of sperm cells were significantly higher (p < 0.5 0) in Group A (96.20±0.73%) and Group B (96.20±0.73%) compared to Group C (96.80±1.64%) at day 22 post-treatment. The histology of the testis of control and all treatment groups revealed normal testicular germinal epithelium full of viable spermatogenic cells. It is, therefore, concluded that Amaranthus hybridus extract given orally at 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg body weight, did not affect the normal cytoarchitecture of the testis and epididymis and can increase sperm production.