Aqueous extractions of mondia whitei root improve human sperm function in vitro

Abstract

Introduction: Mondia whitei (Mw) is a prominent African medicinal plant that is widely used as traditional treatment in the management of sexual dysfunction and male infertility. Yet, there is a paucity of scientific evidence to support its medicinal use. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effect of aqueous root extract of Mw on human semen parameters and sperm function. Materials and Methods: Semen samples were obtained from healthy donors (n = 30) and infertile patients (n = 30) for in vitro experiments. Samples were washed using human tubular fluid medium supplemented with bovine serum albumin (HTF-BSA), and incubated with increasing concentrations (0.0185, 0.185, 1.85, 18.5 and 185 μg/mL) of aqueous Mw rhizome extracts for 1 h at 37 °C. HTF-BSA washed sperm served as a control for the experiments. Sperm total and progressive motility, kinematic parameters, vitality, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), capacitation and acrosome reaction were assessed following the termination of experiments. Results: Extracts of Mw increased spermatozoa total motility, vitality, percentage of spermatozoa with intact MMP and intracellular ROS in both the donor and infertile groups. Mw increased progressive motility, SDF, capacitation and acrosome reaction in the infertile group only. Sperm kinetic motility parameters and hyperactivation were not significantly affected in any group. Although there was increased intracellular ROS generation, this did not negatively affect MMP, SDF, hyperactivation or acrosome reaction and capacitation. Conclusion: Mw improves functional human sperm parameters in vitro, increasing total and progressive motility, and intact MMP in a dose dependent manner. Further studies instigating the effect of Mw on male fertility are warranted.