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ABSTRACT
Cottonseed is used to make soup and is consumed by several people in Nigeria. It contains gossypol that confers resistance of the plant to pests. Gossypol has attracted a lot of attention as a possible male antifertility agent or a therapeutic agent for some gynaecological diseases. The purpose of carrying out this study is aimed at determining the ameliorative effects of shea butter on the quality of sperm cells in gossypol-induced infertility in Wistar rats. Twenty adult male Wistarrats weighing 200-230g were grouped into four (4), group A to D. Using randomized design with a total of (5) five rats in each group. The experiment was divided into two phases; the induction of infertility and treatment period. Group A the control group was fed with grower’s mash and clean water ad libitum, group B was administered cotton seed oil at low dose of 500mg/kg body weight, groups C and D were administered high dose cotton seed oil at 1000mg/kg body weight for an induction period of four (4 weeks). Thereafter, two rats in each group were sacrificed and semen and testis were collected for semen analysis and histomorphological studies. Afterwards the animals in groups B and C were treated with shea butter for a period of two (2) weeks during which they were administered 100mg/kg body weight of shea butter, group A was administered 1mL of vegetable oil, group D was given normal feed and clean water ad libitum. The animals were sacrificed and semen and testis were obtained for semen analysis and histomorphological studies. Data were analyzed using Analysis of variance (ANOVA). Statistical analysis carried out on the results obtained at the end of induction period showed a significant decrease in the normal morphology and a significant increase in the abnormal morphology (p<0.05) of sperm cells.
