Study of the pharmacological effects of the ethanol extract of trunk barks of Zanthoxylum gilletii (From Wild Waterman 1975) on the weight parameters of the reproductive organs of male rats

In Cote d'Ivoire the bark of the trunk of Zanthoxylum gilletii is used as an aphrodisiac.The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of the ethanolic extract of Zanthoxylum gilletii trunk bark on the male sexual organs.To achieve this objective, the triphytochemical and acute oral toxicity were previously carried out according to OECD guideline 423.Then 18 males rats were chosen, divided into 3 batches of 6 rats for the study of the effect of the extract on the sexual organs of male rats.The rats received daily for 60 days 1ml of distilled water for the control batch and 1ml of extract with respective doses of 500 and 1000 mg/kg of body weigth for the treated batches.At the end of the treatment the rats were sacrificed, the reproductive organs were removed and weighed.Then, histological sections of the testes and epididymis were made.Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, sterols and polyterpenes.The acute toxicity study showed that the extract is not toxic; the lethal dose (LD50) is greater than 2000 mg/kg bw.The extract caused a significant increase (P < 0.05) of the fresh weight of the testes, epididymis, seminal vesicles, prostate and levator muscle.Histological sections also revealed growth in the size of the testicular and epididymal structures of the treated rats.Zanthoxylum gilletii extract may have androgenic properties, which would justify the use of this plant for improving male fertility.