Endocrine Abstracts

Surprisingly, up to 50% of cases of infertility among couples worldwide are male-related. But despite this alarming prevalence of male infertility, most studies continue to focus on analysis of infertility from female perspective. Curcumin (CUM), a food additive with international numbering code E100 has been shown to exhibit therapeutic potential against some illnesses (cancer, diabetes, testicular damage) in which free radicals plays a crucial role (Aggarwal and Harikumar 2009). Thus, this study examines the effect of curcumin on sperm profile and serum testosterone level.

The extraction of curcumin from turmeric rhizome was carried out according to the method described by Liu et al. (2008). Twenty adult male rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: group A (control) received distilled water, groups B, C and D received 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg of CUM respectively. The CUM-treated animals received this compound intra-peritoneally once daily for fourteen days after which they were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Epididymal sperm profile (motility, morphology and concentration), serum testosterone level and the micro-architecture of the seminiferous tubule were examined.

The different concentrations of CUM significantly (P<0.05) increased the percentage value of spermatozoa with normal morphology (77.75±3.83, 74.50±2.10, 85.25±2.06 respectively) as compared to the control group (62.50±1.44). Sperm motility and concentration were significantly increased (P<0.05) with a concomitant apparent increase in spermatogenic activity in the seminiferous tubule of the CUM-treated groups. CUM significantly increase (P<0.05) serum testosterone level particularly in the 150 mg/kg CUM group (14.45±0.14 nmol/l) as compared to the control group (9.51±0.98 nmol/l). This study suggests that curcumin enhances fertility in male wistar rats as evidenced by increased sperm profile and serum testosterone level.