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Effect of a 60-day oral gavage of a crude alkaloid extract from Chromolaena odorata leaves on hormonal and spermatogenic indices of male rats.

The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of the crude alkaloids isolated from Chromolaena odorata leaves on the hormonal and spermatogenic indices of male rats. The alkaloids obtained from C odorata leaves using standard methods were administered to male rats for 60 days at the doses of 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg body weight. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis of the alkaloid mixture produced 8 spots, 3 of which were alkaloids with R(f) values of 0.41, 0.49, and 0.55 as confirmed by the formation of orange color and creamy precipitates with both Dragendorff and Mayer reagents, respectively. The alkaloids were represented in the extract by a yield of 20.28 g, corresponding to a percentage yield of 90.05% of the total extract of 22.52 g. The final body weights of both the control and alkaloid-treated animals increased significantly (P < .05) compared with their respective body weights before treatment. The alkaloids significantly decreased (P < .05) the testes-body weight ratio; the concentrations of testicular total protein, glycogen, sialic acid, and cholesterol; and the activities of γ-glutamyl transferase, acid phosphatase, and alkaline phosphatase. The serum luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels, as well as testicular and serum testosterone levels, also decreased significantly (P < .05). There were decreases in the sperm count, motility, and density, as well as morphological changes in the sperm cells. The pH and whitish-gray color of the semen were not significantly affected. All of the doses of the alkaloids increased the total mean number of sperm cell abnormalities, with the secondary type predominating over the primary sperm cell abnormality. The alterations in the levels of the hormones and secretory and synthetic constituents of the testes and the spermatotoxic effects by the alkaloids from C odorata leaves may be due to nonavailability or deprivation of testosterone to the target organ. This lack of testosterone may have consequential effects on the reproductive process of the male rat.