Nontoxic Effects Of Clitoria Ternatea Purple-Flower Extract On Reproductive Organs In Male Rats

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Jaturon Burawat
Wannisa Sukhorum
Rarinthorn Samrid
Supatcharee Arun
Sitthichai Iamsaard

Abstract

Introduction: Clitoria ternatea (CT) purple-flowers have been used as food and drinking additives in many countries including Thailand. In traditional medicine, CT is considered to have properties of anti-stress, anti-bacteria, and anti-inflammations. In addition, CT was proved as natural antioxidant that has hepatoprotective effects. To provide the safety information of CT on reproductive organs, this study aimed to observe the toxicity of CT on testis, epididymis, and sperm concentration in male rats. Materials and Methods: Fresh CT purple flowers were extracted using distilled-water. DPPH and FRAP assays were used to determine antioxidant activities of the aqueous CT extract. For in vivo toxicity study, twenty adult male rats were divided into four groups (five rats per group): 1) control group, 2-4) CT-treated groups (10, 50, 100 mg/kg bw, respectively). After gastric administration for consecutive 28 days, all rats were sacrificed to collect testis, epididymis, and sperm for morphological examinations. Results: EC50 of CT extract was 85.26 ± 9.12 µg/ml and FRAP value was 0.33 ± 0.01 mM. The absolute and relative weights of testis and epididymis including sperm concentration between control and CT treated groups were not significantly different. Moreover, no histopathology of testis and epididymis in CT groups were observed as compared to the control group. Conclusion: CT purple-flower extract has high antioxidant levels and is not toxic to male reproductive organs. In further studies, the testicular-protective effect should be investigated.

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