Background: Any substance that increases erectile function, sexual performance and enjoyment is considered an aphrodisiac. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of food plants Mondia whitei, Chenopodium album, Cucurbita pepo and Sclerocarya birrea extracts at a fixed dose of 200mg/kg body weight on sexual behavior, sperm parameters and testosterone levels in adult male rats. These are food plants also traditionally used as aphrodisiacs in South Africa, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa. Materials and methods: Sexual behavior parameters assessed in this study included an arousal component (mount latency and intromission latency); sexual potency (mount frequency and intromission frequency), erection (copulatory efficiency) and ejaculations. All treatments were administered orally daily for 28 days. Sexual behavior parameters were quantified 2 hours after a single dose, at 14 days and at 28 days of treatment. Results: The order of efficacy in stimulating sexual behavior in male rats was M. whitei >S. birrea > C. pepo ≥ C. album. Although there was no change in number of ejaculations and sperm count (P>0.05) for all treatment groups compared to controls, all treatments increased (P<0.05) sperm motility. M. whitei and C. pepo treatments resulted in increased (P<0.05) serum testosterone levels. Conclusion: Therefore, this study demonstrates varying aphrodisiac activities of food plants used traditionally as aphrodisiacs.

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This study investigated the effects of kwashiorkor malnutrition on blood tissue fluid exchange by measuring the rate of capillary filtration (CFR) in response to a 60-mmHg increment in venous pressure in the forearms of 1- to 3-yr-old native African children within the Transkei Homeland. They were divided into the following subject groups: kwashiorkor patients (K); kwashiorkor patients who were at various stages of recovery (RK); marasmus patients (M); patients with edema of nonkwashiorkor origin (E); and control children (C). Measurements of CFR were significantly lower in the K subjects compared with any of the other groups (P less than 0.05), whereas, the RK, M, E, and C subjects were not significantly different from each other. This latter finding indicates that the lower CFR of the K patients is reversible and is not due to malnutrition or edema per se. Measurements of forearm cutaneous blood flow by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in C and K subjects showed only a slightly lower value for the K patients (P greater than 0.20), and there was no relationship between CFR and LDF for either group (r = 0.073). These results suggest that the lower CFR of the K patients is not secondary to peripheral vasoconstriction.

Objective: To examine the relationship between serum magnesium and high sensitive C-reactive proteins (hsCRP) and overweight/obesity and its association with hypertension in lean versus overweight/obese, female, adolescent school learners living in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Methods:A case-control study was conducted involving age-matched, non-pregnant and non-lactating lean and overweight/obese females, aged 13-17 years. Relevant data on demography, anthropometry (height, weight, waist and hip circumferences), blood pressure and venous blood samples were collected.Results: A significant inverse correlation was observed between serum magnesium and waist circumference (r = -0.3153, 95% CI = -3.843 to -0.8681, p = 0.0022). Serum hsCRP levels were significantly higher in overweight/obese participants. Participants with waist circumference (WC) > 80 cm had significantly higher mean systolic blood pressure and mean diastole blood pressure (MDBP). Hip circumference (HC) >94 cm was associated with higher mean systole blood pressure (MSBP) and MDBP (120 ± 2 vs 113 ± 2, p = 0.009 and 73±2 vs 68±1, p=0.003). Both WC and HC correlated positively with both MSBP (r=0.2691, 95% CI = 0.042 -0.457, p = 0.018; r = 0.2758, 95% CI = 0.03184 -0.3001, p = 0.0159) and MDBP (r=0.2686, 95%CI = 0.0286 -0.320, p = 019; r = 0.2836, 95% CI = 0.05382 -0.4455, p = 0.013), respectively. Conclusion:Findings of low grade inflammation and early-onset hypertension in overweight/obese adolescent females in our study were consistent with evidences supporting the beneficial effect of maintaining lean body habitus. There is urgent need to prevent overweight/obesity among adolescents.