STUDIES ON SOME ANTIFERTILITY INDICES OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF PAWPAW (Carica papaya) SEEDS AND ITS EFFECTS ON SOME ACROSOMAL ENZYMES OF MALE WISTER ALBINO RATS

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Date
2011-10
Authors
ONAOLAPO, MARY ADEROJU OLALONPE
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Abstract
The antifertility properties of Carica papaya seeds were investigated on the serum biochemistry, haematological profile and the testicular function of 90 male wister albino rats. Treatment of male albino rats orally with the crude and the chromatographic chloroform fraction of the aqueous extract of Carica papaya seeds led to reduced sperm counts, low percentage live sperm and reduction in percentage normal sperm. These effects were more pronounced with the animals treated with 200mg/kg body weight for both crude and the partially purified extract. In all these investigations, the weights of the animals, haematology and serum clinical chemistry and were not adversely affected. It was also observed that there was an unaltered serum testosterone level. The present study has added to earlier findings on the crude and partially purified seed extract by testing the effects on sialic acid and acrosomal enzymes namely acrosin and hyaluronidase levels. The 200mg/kg body weight dosage showed pronounced reductions for sialic acid, hyaluronidase and acrosin values after three weeks and one week treatment with the crude aqueous and partially purified extract of Carica papaya seeds respectively. Therefore it may be concluded that the aqueous extract of Carica papaya seeds possesses a great potential as a male antifertility agent. However, the extract may not be absolutely safe because it brought about increased percentage of sperm defects, caused cellular infiltration in testes, epididymis, liver and kidney.
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A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PhD) IN BIOCHEMISTRY. DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY FACULTY OF SCIENCE AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA.
Keywords
STUDIES,, ANTIFERTILITY,, INDICES,, AQUEOUS,, EXTRACT,, PAWPAW,, Carica papaya,, SEEDS,, EFFECTS,, ACROSOMAL,, ENZYMES,, MALE,, WISTER,, ALBINO RATS
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