Infertility is a concern for couples, families and society. In almost half of the cases, it is due to male infertility. This infertility, in developing countries like Benin, often cured by the use of medicinal plants. This study aimed to enlist knowledge about medicinal plants used in the treatment of male infertility in southern Benin. An ethnomedicinal investigation has been conducted in southern Benin by questioning traditional healers and market herbalists using the method of semi-structured interview. Ethnopharmacological data has been analyzed by ethnobotanical indices such as informant consensus factor (ICF), frequency of citation for each plant species and contribution of each plant to drug recipes. 90 respondents including 36 market herbalists and 54 traditional healers participated in this study. Data collected allowed us to list 60 plant species belonging to 56 genera and 38 botanical families. Informants had a high degree of consensus (ICF = 0.58) on plants used for treatment of male infertility. The most plants cited by market herbalists were Garcinia kola (10.09%), Cissus populnea (10.09%), Carpolobia lutea (07.40%) and the parts of plants most used were roots and fruits. For traditional healers, Garcinia kola (10.15%), Cyperus esculentus (06.09%), Citrus aurantiifiola (06.09%) were the most plants cited and parts of plants the most used were leaves and roots. This study provided a list of medicinal plants used for the treatment of male infertility in southern Benin. Further pharmacological and toxicological studies will assess the therapeutic efficacy of these medicinal plants.

Antioxidants are a family of substances that can neutralize free radicals and prevent and/or treat diseases associated with oxidative stress such as male’s infertility. Medicinal plants are one of the main sources of antioxidants. Aim: This work was aimed at evaluating the chemical and antioxidant potential of different extracts from some plants used in traditional Beninese medicine for the treatment of male infertility. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on aqueous, hydro-ethanolic and ethanolic extracts from of the roots of Gardenia ternifolia (G. ternifolia), the whole plant of Cassytha filiformis (C. filiformis), the leaves of Rourea coccinea (R. coccinea) and the seed of Garcinia kola (G .kola). Quantification of the total polyphenols and flavonoids content of these extracts was evaluated respectively by the method using Folin Ciocalteu and the method using Aluminum trichloride. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by molecular spectrophotometry using the free radical scavenging of DPPH and FRAP methods. Results: The results obtained indicated a variation of total polyphenols and flavonoids content according to the type of extract. Hydro-ethanolic extract of the various plants studied has a high polyphenols and flavonoids content. In variable proportions, all the extracts tested reduced the DPPH radical and ferric iron, reflecting their antioxidant potential. The best antioxidant activity has been obtained with the hydro-ethanolic extracts. Conclusion: This study showed that all the plant's extracts studied have antioxidant activity that varies with the type of extract. However, the hydro-ethanolic extractions showed the best antioxidant activities. The data obtained in the present study justified the use of these plants in management of pathologies involving oxidative stress.

The use of medicinal plants in traditional medicine is a common practice in developing countries. However, this unregulated or irrational use may pose a risk of toxicity to humans in the short and/or long term. Recent studies reported interesting ethnopharmacological, antioxidant, and phytochemical data on some medicinal plants used in the traditional treatment of male infertility in Benin. Unfortunately, very little data exist on the long-repeated dose toxicity of these medicinal plants. This study was aimed at evaluating the larval cytotoxicity and subacute toxicity of the hydroethanolic extract of Cassytha filiformis whole plant, Gardenia ternifolia roots, and Rourea coccinea leaves. The subacute toxicity of these plants was evaluated in male Wistar albino rats at three different doses (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg) according to the OECD 407 guidelines. Hematological and biochemical examinations and the histological study of the liver and kidneys were carried out. Larval cytotoxicity was assessed by the sensitivity of Artemia salina larvae to different concentrations of the studied plants extracts. The mean lethal concentration (LC50) was determined by the probit method. Subacute toxicity data indicated that there was no mortality or structural alterations of the liver and kidneys in the lot of treated animals. However, significant alterations in certain hematological and biochemical parameters (hematocrit, ASAT, and uremia) were noted. These abnormalities were observed in the lot of rats treated with Rourea coccinea and Cassytha filiformis extracts. Larval cytotoxicity data indicate that the studied plants extracts are not cytotoxic (LC50 > 0.1 mg/mL). These data suggest that the use in traditional medicine of studied plants at high doses and repeated over a long period of time requires special attention.

Ethanol consumption is a risk factor of male infertility. The use of medicinal plants offers an alternative for the treatment of male infertility in developing countries. This study aimed to evaluate the Rourea coccinea effect on ethanol‐induced male infertility in Wistar rats. Twenty‐five (25) male Wistar rats were randomised into five groups of five rats and treated by oesophageal gavage over a 28‐day period. Group 1 (negative control) received distilled water; Group 2 (positive control) received 30% ethanol at 7 mg/kg body weight; Group 3 (reference control) received 30% ethanol co‐treated with the reference drug, clomiphene citrate; Groups 4 and 5 (test groups) received 30% ethanol co‐treated with Rourea coccinea hydro‐ethanolic extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively. Testosterone hormone, sperm parameters and testicular histopathology were evaluated. Ethanol treatment induced a significant reduction (p < .05) in sperm count, motility, viability and a significant increase in sperm abnormalities because of the significant decrease (p < .05) in testosterone levels. These data correlate with the alterations observed in the seminiferous tubule on histopathological examination of the testes. However, co‐treatment of ethanol with Rourea coccinea extract or the reference drug restored the ethanol‐induced toxic effects on the reproductive organs, sperm profile and testosterone level.

Background: Infertility is a concern for couples, families and society. In almost half of the cases, it is due to male infertility, which results in the azoospermia and oligospermia. This infertility, in developing countries like Benin, is often care by the use of medicinal medicinal plants. However, very few data exist on plants with spermatogenic benefits at the current stage. Therefore, this work aimed to enlist knowledge about plants used in the treatment of male infertility in southern Benin. Methods : An ethnomedicinal investigation has been conducted by questioning traditional healer and market herbalists using the method of semi-structured interview. A descriptive and quantitative statistical method was used to analyze the socio-demographic data of the informants. ANOVA One-way and Independent Samples T-Test were used to assess the degree of endogenous knowledge of the respondents. Ethnopharmacological data has been analyzed by ethnobotanical indices such as informant consensus factor ( ICF ), frequency of citation ( FC ) for each plant species and contribution of each plant to drug recipes ( Cpr ) to establish indicators on the use values ​​attributed to plants listed.Results: 90 respondents including 34 market herbalists and 54 traditional healers participated in this study. Data collected allowed us, on the basic of 70 recipes provided by the informants, to list 60 plant species belonging to 57 genera and 40 botanical families. Informants had a high degree of consensus (ICF = 0.58) on plants used for treatment of male infertility. The most plants cited were Garcinia kola (10.09%), Cissus populnea (10.09%), Carpolobia lutea (7.40%) among market herbalists and Garcinia kola (10.15%), Cyperus esculentus (06.09%), Citrus aurantifiola (06.09 %) among traditional healers. The recipes composed of 1 to 7 plants prepared mainly in the form of maceration and trituration. Conclusion : Beninese flora has a variety of plants used in the treatment of male infertility. This study provided for the first time a list of medicinal plants used for the treatment of male infertility in southern Benin. Further pharmacological and toxicological studies may be undertaken for the scientific validation of the therapeutic effect of these medicinal plants.