Effects of aqueous leaf extract of Corchorus olitorius on sperm count and sperm motility of adult wistar rats

Abstract

Background: The plant, Corchorus olitorius is consumed by many tribes and cultures for both nutritional and therapeutic purposes. Purpose: The study was therefore designed to investigate, evaluate and unravel the possible effects of the plant extract on the sperm count and sperm motility. Method: A total number of thirty two adult Wistar rats weighing between 180 and 200 g separated into four groups labeled A,B,C and D respectively were used for the study. Animals in group A which served as the control group were fed with the normal rat chow and water only. The group B rats were administered 100mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of Corchorus olitorius; while those in group C were administered 500mg/kg body weight of the extract. The group D rats received 1000mg/kg body weight of the extract. For a period of four weeks, the different experimental animal groups received the respective aforementioned treatments once daily, around nine- o’clock in the morning through oral intubation. At the end of the 28 day treatment, the rats were sacrificed and the testes and accompanying epididymis harvested for investigations using standard laboratory standards. Results: Surprisingly, semen analysis showed that group B, C and D rats had an improved and increased sperm motility rate over group (A). Again, there was a pronounced significant increase in the average sperm count of the rats treated with varying doses of Corchorus olitorius leaf extract over that of the control group, a development that appeared to be dose dependent.