Akassa Herman^1,, Peneme Bonaventure Max Lazare^{1, 2}, Etou Ossibi Wilfrid Arnauld^{1, 2}, Morabandza Cyr Jonas¹, Kanga Marie Roselyne¹, Goma Dinouvanza Lèges Aphrodite¹, Abena Ange Antoine^{1, 3}

The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the androgenic and antioxydant effects of ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura trunk bark in Wistar rats. For this purpose, 20 rats were randomly arranged in 4 lots of 5 animals each and received respectively for lots 1 and 2 distilled water and testosterone enanthate and lots 3 and 4 treated with ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura (100 and 250 mg /kg). It appears from this study that the administration of ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura orally at the doses studied causes significant increases in body weight gain (p < 0.05; p < 0.01 and p < 0.001) in rats in contrast to the animals of the negative control lot that received distilled water. Administration of Strychnos camptoneura extract at the doses studied did not induce any significant change (P > 0.05) in the relative weights of testes, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, and penis compared to negative control rats. Furthermore administration of ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura at the doses studied induced a significant increase (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001) in serum and testicular testosterone levels in rats compared to those treated with distilled water. Chemical analyses performed in this study revealed the presence of total polyphenols (TPP) and flavonoids in the ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura. These results suggest that the ethanolic extract of Strychnos camptoneura would have androgenic and antioxidant properties and would justify its use in traditional Congolese medicine for the treatment of male infertility.

Strychnos camptoneura, androgenic, hypogonadisme and antioxidant