Effects of Aspilia africana on oestrogen and testosterone concentrations in West African dwarf rams

Abstract

Oestrogen and testosterone concentrations in West African Dwarf rams administered aqueous Aspilia africana extract were examined in the study using twenty-four rams. The experiment was in Completely Randomized Design with 4 treatment groups and 6 rams per treatment group. Rams in treatment 1 (control) received 10ml of distilled water, while those in T2, T3 and T4 received 1000mg/kg Body Weight (BW), 2000mg/kg BW and 3000mg/kg BW of aqueous Aspilia africana extract, respectively. The extract was administered orally using 10ml syringe for for 64 days. Rams in all the treatment groups were fed 2kg of same forages and 500g of the same concentrate diet, daily. Blood samples were collected from 4 rams per treatment group, pre, during and post-experiment and used to determine sera concentrations of testosterone and oestradiol. Result of the study revealed no significant difference (P>0.05) in oestradiol and testosterone concentrations of the rams pre-experiment, whereas significant differences (P>0.05) were observed among the various treatment groups during and post-experiment. While oestradiol level was observed to decrease from 112.50pg/ml–80.00pg/ml in T1 (control), the treated groups (T2, T3 and T4), were observed to follow a reverse trend with oestradiol increasing from 117.50–122.50, 175.00–187.50, 230.00–235.00 (pg/ml) in T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Whereas, testosterone levels (ng/ml) was observed to increase from 14.56 to 15.00 and thereafter to 15.72 (ng/ml) in the control group (T1) before, during and post-experiments, respectively. T2, T3 and T4 recorded decrease in testosterone level during and post-experiment. It was observed that administering more than 2000mg/kg BW of aqueous Aspilia africana could have significant effect on oestradiol and testosterone levels. This may have deleterious effects on libido and fertility of the rams. Therefore, Aspilia africana should not be fed to rams meant for breeding until an anti-dote which can suppress its anti-fertility effect is discovered.