Aphrodisiac Effect of Peanut Extract in Male

Year Published: 2022

Research Square (Preprint)

Oluchi Nnenna ( à nwankudu.nnenna@mouau.edu.ng ) Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria Chukwuka Nwocha Uchendu University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Reginald Ikechukwu Obidike University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

NOTE: Preprint article. 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

Key Findings: Methods: 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 carried their pregnancy to term. Result: 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.