ABSTRACT

The study was designed to investigate the aphrodisiac activity of a methanol extract of a powdered herbal preparation obtained from Iwo (Osun state Nigeria) in laboratory animals. The powdered sample was extracted with methanol using a soxhlet apparatus. After concentration, the extract was administered to male Wistar rats at doses of 100, 200, and 400mg/kg body weight. The male rats were then paired with female rats that had been brought into oestrus by the sequential administration of 10µg/100g body weight of estradiol benzoate orally 48 hours before and progesterone 0.5mg/100g body weight 4 hour before mating.Rats that didn't receive any treatment were designated as negative control while 50mg/kg was sildenafil administered to another group as the positive control. The parameters determined were,mounting frequency (MF), mounting latency (ML), intromisson frequency (IF), intromisson latency (IL), ejaculation frequency (EF), ejaculation latency (EL), anogenital grooming (AG), and genital sniffing (GS) for physical sexual behavioral study. Biochemical, hormonal and sperm analysis were also done to study the effects of the extract on these parameters.The methanol extract showed a dose-independent increase in the MF, IF, EF, AG, and GS which were higher than both the control and reference drug, while there was a dose-independent decrease in th ML, IL, and EL and the results were lower than both the control and reference drug. For the biochemical analysis, the lipid profile result showed an increase in the total cholesterol, a decrease in the triglycerides, no significant increase in the high density lipoprotein level, and a marked increase in the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol. No significant effect was observed for the sperm analysis for sperm motility, viability, and morphology. Lastly, the extract elicited a marked decrease in both testosterone and estradiol levels. The study provides evidence that the methanol extract of the herbal preparation indeed possess aphrodisiac activity and can be considered as a possible option for therapies that involve improving sexual performance.