Aphrodisiac Effect of Peanut Extract in Male Vertebrates
Reproductive Health
Year Published: 2023
Journal
World Journal of Innovative Research
Authors
Nwankudu O. N., Uchendu C. N., Obidike I. R.
Methods
Peanut is a legume and contains L-3, 4-Phenyl Alanine which is a precursor for Dopamine. Dopamine is a prolactin inhibitor. A slight increase in prolactin leads to infertility. Objective: To investigate the effect of peanut extract on the reproductive performance of males. Methods: A total of ninety two albino rats were used. Thirty rats were used for acute toxicity testing while thirty female rats were used to ascertain the minimum effective dose to be used for treatment. However, for actual experimentation, thirty two adult albino rats comprising of 8 males and 24 females were used. The 8 males were divided into two groups (A and B) of 4 rats each. Group A (control) was given 2ml/kg of distilled water (DW), B was given 800mg/kg of Peanut Aqueous Extract (PAE) for 30 days. At day 21, 3 females were introduced to each male for impregnation. At day 31, the males were sacrificed. Blood was collected for hematology and serology. The females were sacrificed and evisceration carried out at day 20 post conception.
Key Findings
Key Findings: PAE treated male rats had significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in testosterone, FSH and LH secretions. There was significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in sperm concentration in PAE treated males than in control. Fertility indices showed that PAE treated male rats’ had 75% impregnation success while DW treated males had 42%. The results confirmed PAE as an aphrodisiac for male and for the treatment of hyperprolactinemia-induced-infertility and early stages of Parkinson’s disease.