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Publication
Effect of plant extracts in sperm viability
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Medicinal plants have been used since the earliest documented history around the
world, as an available and inexpensive therapeutic resource. Plant based bioactive
elements play eminent biological roles as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and
antiproliferative agents. It is proved that naturally occurring antioxidants in
ethnomedicinal plants are effective in treating various types of diseases.
However, herbal medicine, without any knowledge of their toxicological profile,
target organ, and safe dose, is one of the biggest problems of recent health care systems.
Any drug or herbal formula which is intended to be used in humans must first be tested
in suitable experimental in vitro or animal models in order to evaluate its safety.
Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the toxicity of plant extracts to enhance their value
for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Six extracts of plants
produced/endogenous in Portugal: Cistus ladanifer, Thymbra capitata, Helichrysum
italicum, Cupressus lusitanica, Ocimum basilicum and Matricaria chamomilla were used
in order to assess their reproductive toxicity by evaluating the viability of sperm when in
contact with the extracts. Hydrolates for each plant were obtained by hydrodistillation of
aerial parts. The chemical composition of the hydrolates was determined by GC-MS (gas
chromatography mass spectrometry).
Reproductive toxicity was assessed by exposing cryopreserved bovine semen to
six different concentrations of each hydrolate (0.2%-0.002% v/v). Methyl
methanesulfonate (MMS) was used (0.22nM) as positive control of sperm toxicity. After
incubation, sperm viability was determined for each concentration by staining with eosinnigrosin
and counting the number of viable and dead spermatozoa (spz) in a total of 200
spz.
The results show that the hydrolates in test do not compromise sperm viability for
all tested concentrations (>25%) when compared with negative control (34%) and in fact,
M. chamomilla seems to promote sperm viability (39%) at the highest tested
concentration.
These results indicate that the extracts at the concentrations used do not seem to
have a toxic effect on this evaluated target.
Description
Keywords
Animal biotechnology Plant hydrolates Reproductive toxicology Sperm
Citation
DIAS, Sandra D.F. [et al.] (2022) - Effect of plant extracts in sperm viability. In Colóquio Nacional e Plantas Aromáticas e Medicinais, 3, Castelo Branco, 2022 : Livro de Atas. Castelo Branco : APH. p. 129-135. (Actas Portuguesas de Horticultura, nº 37).
Publisher
Associação Portuguesa de Horticultura