Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Comparative Effect of Three Antimalarials (Quinine, Arthemeter and Fansider) on Some Reproductive Organs and Serum Testosterone Level in Male Wistar Rats
K.V. Olorunshola and Y. Baa
Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
British Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology 2014 2:63-66
Received: June 05, 2013 | Accepted: July 10, 2013 | Published: April 20, 2014
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of some commonly used ant malarial agents in Nigeria on sperm concentration, epididymal, seminal vesicle, testicular weights and serum testosterone level on adult male albino rats. Malaria and its complications pose serious health challenges in sub-saharan Africa and the possible side effects of anti-malarials on reproductive functions should be of serious consideration. Twenty one adult rats were randomly divided into five groups (Group A, B1, B2, C and D) of five rats each with group B1 and B2 having 3 rats each. Group A serve as the control and was administered 0.9% normal saline; Group B1 was administered quinine dihydrochloride (5 mg/kg); Group B2 was administered quinine dihydrochloride (10 mg/kg); Group C was administered Artemether (20 mg/kg) and Group D was administered sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (22.5 mg/kg). The ant malarial agents were administered via intraperitonial route for 4 days. Testicular, seminal vesiscle and epididymal body weight ratio; sperm count and serum testosterone level were evaluated using standard methods. Results of the experiment showed a dose dependent significant decrease (p<0.05) in the epididymal weight by Arthemeter and higher dose of quinine (10 mg/kg bw), but there were no significant differences in seminal vesicle and testicular weights; sperm concentration and serum testosterone levels between the experimental and control animals. The results suggest that the administration of the three antimalarial agents at recommended doses and duration employed in this study had no adverse effects on testicular function and serum testosterone level.
Keywords:
Artemether, epididymis, fansidar (sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine), quinine, seminal vesicle, sperm concentration, testes, testosterone,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
|
|
![](http://www.maxwellsci.com/images/BJPT-maxw.jpg) |
ISSN (Online): 2044-2467
ISSN (Print): 2044-2459 |
![Submit Manuscript](../images/sub.jpg) |
Information |
|
|
|
Sales & Services |
|
|
|