ABSTRACT
Garcinia kola Heckel, commonly called bitter kola, belongs to the family Clusiaceae. It is a perennial crop that grows in the forest. It is widely dispersed throughout West and Central Africa. Bitter kola has historically been used as an aphrodisiac to treat various illnesses, including dysentery, chest colds, liver disorders, diarrhoea, laryngitis, bronchitis, and gonorrhoea. This research aims to evaluate the effects of the aqueous extract of Garcinia kola seed on the sexual behaviour and hormonal levels in male Wistar rats. The aqueous extract of G. kola seed at graded doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg and reference drug (100 mg/kg sildenafil citrate) were orallyadministered for seven days to the male rats to determine sexual behavioural indexes. The female animals were made receptive via artificial hormonal stimulants (1 mg/kg oestradiol benzoate and 100 µg/100 g progesterone). The assessed sexual behavioural indices includes Mounting Frequency (MF), Intromission Frequency (IF), Ejaculation Frequency (EF), Mounting Latency (ML), Intromission Latency (IL), Ejaculation latency (EL), genital sniffing, genital grooming, copulatory frequency (CE), inter-copulatory efficiency (IE) and post-ejaculatory interlude (PEI). The results showed that 100 mg/kg of the aqueous seed of G. kola significantly increased the levels of MF (28), IF (27.00 ), EF (2.83), GS (7.8), GG (20.00), ML (480 sec.), IL (410 sec.), EL (85 sec.), CE (85%), IE (13.00), and PEI (25) in all treatment groups compared to the control. Serum testosterone levels rose in the 25 and 50 mg/kg treatment groups at 3.21 and 3.29 pg/ml and 4.07 pg/ml in the 100 mg/kg extract group compared to the control group (2.73 pg/ml), respectively. The results affirm the ethnomedicinal use of Garcinia kola seed as an aphrodisiac. It is recommended that more studies be conducted to identify the active principle(s) in the plant.
