Reproduction Abstracts

Alchornea cordifolia is commonly used as a medicinal plant throughout its area of distribution in Africa including Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo. The leaves are traditionally used for the treatment of veneral diseases. Using 36 male albino rats, randomly divided into six groups of six rats each, the effects of oral administration of the methanol extract of the leaves of A. cordifolia on some reproductive and haematological parameters of male rats were investigated at 0, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg/kg. The values of total and differential white blood cell in the control and test animals were similar at all treatment doses. The erythrocyte count, packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration and haematmetric indices except mean corpuscular volume decreased significantly (P<0.05) at the 1600 mg/kg dose compared with the control. Markers of hepatic damage (alanine and aspartate transferases) and renal damage (urea and creatinine) were significantly elevated (P<0.05) at 800 and 1600 mg/kg. Although, significant increases were observed in testicular weight, spermatozoa count and motility, and serum testosterone levels, at all treatment levels, severe deleterious effects were not recorded on the liver, kidney and testis at doses below 400 mg/kg. The study concludes that, the extract of A. cordifolia leaves, though apparently toxic on haematological parameters, the liver and the kidney in high doses may have beneficial effects on male reproduction when used at maximum dose of 400 mg/kg.