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  • Title: Sperm antimotility properties of a seed extract of Abrus precatorius.
    Author: Ratnasooriya WD, Amarasekera AS, Perera NS, Premakumara GA.
    Journal: J Ethnopharmacol; 1991; 33(1-2):85-90. PubMed ID: 1943179.
    Abstract:
    This study examined the inhibitory effects of a methanol extract of Abrus precatorius seeds on the motility of washed human spermatozoa. The extract caused a concentration-related impairment of percentage sperm motility; with the EC50 concentration being 2.29 mg/ml. This effect on motility was essentially irreversible. With the highest concentration tested (20.0 mg/ml), the onset of the antimotility action was almost immediate. In addition, this concentration impaired the functional integrity of the plasma membrane (hypoosmotic swelling test) and viability (nigrosin-eosin stain) of spermatozoa. In contrast, with a lower concentration (5.0 mg/ml), such effects were not evident. It is concluded that at the lower concentrations the antimotility action may result from a rise in intracellular calcium (not via influx) and/or a decline in cAMP content and/or enhanced generation of a reactive oxygen species. Researchers from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka produced a methanolic extract from the seeds of Abrus precatorius to determine if it could produce an inhibitory effect on sperm motility. Concentrations of 1.25 and 2.5 mg/ml of the extract significantly reduced motility after 60 minutes of incubation (p/001). Further concentrations of 5 mg/ml caused the same significant level of impairment as 1.25 and 2.5 mg.ml concentrations (p.001), but at 30 minutes rather than 60 minutes. Moreover concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/ml significantly prevented motility almost immediately (p.001). In fact, at 20 mg/ml concentrations, motility completely stopped at 0 minutes in 3 of the 9 samples and, by 5 minutes, it stopped motility in an additional 5 samples. None of the samples exhibited mobile sperm at 15 minutes at 20 mg/ml concentrations. The extract could produce sperm antimotility activity at the EC50 concentration of 2.29 mg/ml. In addition, after washing, the researchers observed that the antimotility effect was basically irreversible. The highest concentration (20 mg/ml) impaired the functional integrity of the plasma membrane and viability of spermatozoa. This did not happen at the lower concentrations. Instead, the researchers found that a rise in intracellular calcium, and/or a fall in cAMP content, and/or enhanced generation of a reactive oxygen species may have caused the antimotility action at the lower concentrations. In conclusion, scientists can use the seeds of A. precatorius to isolate bioactive compounds with contraceptive abilities.
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