Effects of Hot Aqueous Extract of Cyperus Esculentus Lativum (Tiger Nut) on Testosterone Levels in Adult Male Wistar Rats (Rattus norvrgicus)

Abstract

Testosterone plays a crucial role in various aspects of reproductive health and general well-being. Herbal extracts are commonly believed to have potential effects on testosterone levels. This study aimed to explore the impact of hot aqueous extracts of Cyperus esculentus latvum (tiger nuts) on testosterone levels and testicular histology in adult male Wistar rats. Ten adult male Wistar rats, each weighing between 100-150g, were divided into two groups (control and treatment), with five rats in each group. Both groups received daily oral administration of 100 mg/kg of hot aqueous extracts according to their assigned treatment for two weeks. After the trial, the rats were sacrificed, and blood and testes were collected for testosterone and histological analysis. T-test was used to compare the levels of each extract group to the control group with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. The results showed that there was no significant difference (p=0.23) in testosterone levels between the control group (0.85 ng/ml) and the tiger nut treated group (0.77 ng/ml). Histologically, tiger nut extract exhibited very sparse germinal epithelium with small spermatogonia and no recognizable spermatozoa in the tubular lumen. This study has demonstrated that at 100mg/Kg hot aqueous extract of tiger nut daily administration for 14days had no effect on testosterone level but rather had high level of declining testicular histology.