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eCAM Advance Access published online on December 18, 2007
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nem171
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© 2007 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Mucuna pruriens Reduces Stress and Improves the Quality of Semen in Infertile Men

Kamla Kant Shukla1, Abbas Ali Mahdi1, Mohammad Kaleem Ahmad1, Shyam Pyari Jaiswar2, Satya Narain Shankwar3 and Sarvada Chandra Tiwari4

1Department of Biochemistry, 2Department of Obstetric & Gynaecology, 3Department of Urology and 4Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow 226003, India

The present investigation was undertaken to assess the role of Mucuna pruriens in infertile men who were under psychological stress. Study included 60 subjects who were undergoing infertility screening and were found to be suffering from psychological stress, assessed on the basis of a questionnaire and elevated serum cortisol levels. Age-matched 60 healthy men having normal semen parameters and who had previously initiated at least one pregnancy were included as controls. Infertile subjects were administered with M. pruriens seed powder (5 g day–1) orally. For carrying out morphological and biochemical analysis, semen samples were collected twice, first before starting treatment and second after 3 months of treatment. The results demonstrated decreased sperm count and motility in subjects who were under psychological stress. Moreover, serum cortisol and seminal plasma lipid peroxide levels were also found elevated along with decreased seminal plasma glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid contents and reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity. Treatment with M. pruriens significantly ameliorated psychological stress and seminal plasma lipid peroxide levels along with improved sperm count and motility. Treatment also restored the levels of SOD, catalase, GSH and ascorbic acid in seminal plasma of infertile men. On the basis of results of the present study, it may be concluded that M. pruriens not only reactivates the anti-oxidant defense system of infertile men but it also helps in the management of stress and improves semen quality.

Keywords: antioxidants – lipid peroxides – male infertility – Mucuna pruriens – psychological stress

For reprints and all correspondence: Prof. Dr Abbas Ali Mahdi, Department of Biochemistry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow 226003, India. Tel: +91-9839011192; Fax: +91-522-2257539; E-mail: mahdiaa{at}rediffmail.com

Received April 3, 2007; accepted October 28, 2007


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Role of Mucuna pruriens in male infertility
Ronojoy Chanda, et al.
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 28 Jan 2008 [Full text]

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