Effect of some vajikaran herbs on pendiculation activities and in vitro sperm count in male

Abstract

Ayurveda holds a special position amongst the various traditional systems of medicine. Vajikaran is a speciality in Ayurvedic system of medicine in India dealing with herbs possessing rejuvenative and revitalizing properties for improving sexual dynamics. In the present study, the effect of five vajikaran herbs on pendiculatory activity and in-vitro sperm count was assessed. The lyophilized aqueous extracts of Asparagus racemosus Willd., Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. F., Curculigo orchioides Gaertn., Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo and Orchis latifolia Linn.(200 mg/Kg b.w.) were administered orally to wistar strain male albino rats. Following this the effect of all the five drugs was evaluated for pendiculatory activity. The effect of extract on in-vitro sperm count was also assessed in a separate experiment where the initial sperm count and count after 30 min of incubation was determined. The results show that the herbs could significantly (P < 0.05) improve the pendiculatory activity in male rats after 14 days of treatment. Similarly, the extract could also preserve the in-vitro sperm count significantly when compared to control group after 30 min. of incubation. Hence the present study further supports the use of these plants as vajikaran or aphrodisiac in traditional Indian medicine. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.