Balinese purnajiwa (Kopsia arborea Blume.) extract stimulates male rats’ sexual behavior and plasma testosterone level

Abstract

Introduction: Purnajiwa (Kopsia arborea Blume.) fruit has been traditionally used to improve male sexuality. This study aims to evaluate the potential of K.arborea ethanolic extract to stimulate rats’ sexual behavior and testosterone. Methods: This study used 25 healthy male and 25 female albino rats (Rattus novegicus), aged 15 weeks, and weighed 220-230g. Rats were divided into five groups, with five replications for each group. The phytoconstituent was quantified and analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). The sexual behaviors (mount and intromission frequency) and testosterone levels were evaluated in adult male Wistar rats. Three doses of extract (300, 200, and 100 mg/kg BW orally) were compared to sildenafil citrate as standard. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) Test, using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25 Results: Vincadifformine alkaloid was detected as the dominant compound. Treatment of the extract increased all parameters suggestive of dose dependence. Twenty-six days of administration of 300 mg/kg BW of extract produced the highest increase of mount and intromission frequency, higher and similar to sildenafil citrate. Treatment of K.arborea also showed increased testosterone, suggestive of dose dependence. Conclusion: K.arborea fruit stimulates sexual behavior and plasma testosterone. Nevertheless, further investigation, safety analysis, and mechanism study are required.