Evaluation of the Spermatogenic Activity of Polyherbal Formulation in Oligospermic Males.

Biomed Res Int. 2018 Jul 25;2018:2070895. doi: 10.1155/2018/2070895. eCollection 2018. Hussain SA1, Hameed A1, Nasir F2, Wu Y1, Suleria HAR3,4,5, Song Y1. Author information 1 Colin Ratledge Center for Microbial Lipids, School of Agriculture Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049, China. 2 Mayo Hospital Affiliated with King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. 3 UQ Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, 37 Kent Street Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia. 4 Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. 5 Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia. Abstract The therapeutic use of natural herbs is an ancient human civilization act and the numbers of people have reliance on their pharmacological properties and preferred to use the natural herbs. People also use to consume these herbs as supplements to energize, bolster, and eventually enhance sexual ability. Polyherbal formulation (PHF) is one of these herbal amalgams that can be used to treat sexual dysfunction including erectile dysfunction, impotence, ejaculation dysfunction, and hypogonadism. The pilot study was aimed at evaluating the capacity of PHF in enhancing the spermatogenic potential of oligospermic patients. Thirty-six male patients with oligospermia were enrolled and randomized either to treatment (n = 23) with PHF (750 mg/d in three doses for 90 days) or to placebo (n = 13) in the same protocol. The preintervention semen analysis was compared with posttreatment semen analysis. Based on the postintervention semen analysis, patients were advised to undergo either in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to assess their fertility status. After polyherbal treatment, there was a 256% increase in sperm concentration (9.59 ± 4.37 × 106/mL to 25.61 ± 8.6 × 106/mL; P ≤0.001), 154% increase in semen volume (1.7 ± 0.14 mL to 4.32 ± 0.38 mL; P ≤0.001), and 215% increase in sperm motility (15.43 ± 2.40% to 48.65 ± 5.10%; P ≤ 0.001) on day 90 from baseline. Furthermore, a significant improvement and regulation were also observed in serum hormone levels with PHF treatment as compared to the placebo group. The present study demonstrated the evidence on synergistic spermatogenic effect of PHF as attributed in ayurveda for the treatment of oligospermia leading to infertility. PMID: 30148161 PMCID: PMC6083514 DOI: 10.1155/2018/2070895 Free PMC Article