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Asian Journal of Andrology (2010) 12: 468-479. doi: 10.1038/aja.2010.43; published online 21 June 2010.
Effects of plants and plant products on the testis
Shereen Cynthia D'Cruz1, Selvaraju Vaithinathan1, Rajamanickam Jubendradass1 and Premendu Prakash Mathur1
1 Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605014, India
Correspondence: Dr Premendu Prakash Mathur, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605014, India. Fax: +91-413-2655211 E-mail: ppmathur@gmail.com; ppmathur.bic@pondiuni.edu.in
Received 1 April 2010; Revised 29 April 2010; Accepted 13 May 2010; Published online 21 June 2010.
| Abstract |
For centuries, plants and plant-based products have been used as a valuable and safe natural source of medicines for treating various ailments. The therapeutic potential of most of these plants could be ascribed to their anticancer, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antispasmodic, analgesic and various other pharmacological properties. However, several commonly used plants have been reported to adversely affect male reproductive functions in wildlife and humans. The effects observed with most of the plant and plant-based products have been attributed to the antispermatogenic and/or antisteroidogenic properties of one or more active ingredients. This review discusses the detrimental effects of some of the commonly used plants on various target cells in the testis. A deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms of action of these natural compounds could pave the way for developing therapeutic strategies against their toxicity.
Keywords: male reproduction; natural products; plants; spermatogenesis; steroidogenesis; testis |
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