ABSTRACT
Infertility is a major health problem with an incidence of 15–20% in around 50 million couples, in which men account for about 50% of all cases. Parijoto fruit (Medinilla speciosa Blume) is empirically used to increase fertility. The purpose of this study was to determine the stimulatory effect of methanol extract and n-hexane insoluble and soluble fraction of parijoto on the quantity of spermatozoa. This study used 28 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats divided into six groups, where group I was normal; groups II, III, and IV were methanol extract groups receiving doses of 100 mg/kgBW, 250 mg/kgBW, and 500 mg/kgBW; group V received n-hexane insoluble fraction 500 mg/kgBW; and group VI received n-hexane soluble fraction 500 mg/kgBW, each dosage given orally for 14 days. The parameter observed was the spermatozoa quantity. The obtained data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. The results showed the mean quantity of spermatozoa in groups I, II, III, IV, V, and VI was respectively 26.8 ± 1.6, 27.1 ± 1.3, 30.4 ± 1.3, 43.5 ± 1.3, 67.1 ± 2.8, and 50.1 ± 1.9 (million/ml ejaculate). Significant differences emerged between group I and groups IV, V, and VI. Methanol extract and n-hexane insoluble and soluble fraction of parijoto fruit provided a stimulating effect on the quantity of spermatozoa in SD male rats.
