Effect of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Caesalpinia bonduc Root on Sexual Behaviour of Male Wistar Rats

Abstract

The empiric use of the aphrodisiac plants such as Caesalpinia bonduc is growing up. The practice of self- medication with natural aphrodisiacs increases the risks of adverse reactions. It is then necessary to undertake studies in sight of reasoned use of these substances. The objective of the current study was a characterization of the sexual behavior of male wistar rats treated or not with 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg of aqueous or ethanolic extract of C. bonduc roots, comparatively with Viagra. The survey of the sexual behavior was carried in two sets of observation, each during 15 minutes: the first, 15 minutes after treatment and the second, 105 minutes after treatment. The result of phytochemical screening of C. bonduc roots powder revealed the presence of various compounds including tannins, flavonoids, anthocyans, leucoanthocyans, mucillag, saponosids, anthracemic, heterosids, alkaloids and quinons. At the first observation, no significant difference (P>0.05) was noticed for the mean frequencies of sniff and the mean frequencies of goes up while the Neperian logarithm of the latent time of goes up varied significantly (P<0.05) among treatments. At the second observation, no significant difference (P>0.05) was noticed for the mean frequencies of sniff and the Neperian logarithm of the latent time of goes up contrary to the mean frequencies of goes up, which varied significantly among treatments (P<0.05). It had been concluded that the chemical groups of C. bonduc roots could potentially induce aphrodisiac activities. However, these results need further investigations.