Gyuok Lee^{1, 2}, Jaeyong Kim², Sang-o Pan², Miri Kim², Woojin Jun¹, Chul-yung Choi^2,

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract of Cynanchum wilfordii Radix (CWW). In addition, we conducted in vitro and in vivo tests to examine whether the aqueous extract of CWW has an aphrodisiac property. The results indicated significant increases in testosterone synthesis in Leydig TM3 cells when the cells were treated with CWW at concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL. In the in vivo study, CWW (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight/day) and tadalafil (2 mg/kg body weight/day) were administered by oral gavage to male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for 15 days. On day 15, the rats were evaluated for sexual behavior parameters (mount latency, ML; mounting frequency, MF; intromission latency, IL; intromission frequency, IF; ejaculation latency, EL; post-ejaculatory interval, PEI) by pairing them with estrus females. Following the sexual interactions, blood samples were collected from the rats to evaluate their serum hormone levels. In the rats administered 200 mg/kg body weight/day of CWW, MF (p < 0.05) and IF (p < 0.01) significantly increased, while ML, IL, EL, and PEI significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. In addition, the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone increased. CWW improved sexual motivation, libido, and potency in the male SD rats by stimulating LH, FSH, and testosterone secretion. The results indicated that Cynanchum wilfordii has an aphrodisiac effect.

Male sexual behavior, Aphrodisiac, Testosterone, Cynanchum wilfordii