According to Medical Xpress, new research promises to help many men who are haunted by the thought of being "weak" because of problems in having children.
The results, published in the Phytomedicine Plus journal of the European Scientific Council for Medicinal Plant Therapies (ESCOP), also help analyze the truth of the "kidney-tonifying, aphrodisiac" effect that people often spread about the cat bean plant (Mucuna pruriens).
In Oriental medicine, cat bean is mainly used to treat stomachache, dysentery, worm infections...
Cowpea seeds have unexpected effects on men's reproductive system (Illustration from the Internet)
The team of authors from the University of Ghana chose to study powder from this plant because it grows quite abundantly in their country. In Asia, this plant also grows wild in many mountainous regions of India, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, etc.
Twenty-eight male mice were used in the study, divided into four equal groups. Three groups were fed a diet supplemented with low, medium, or high doses of cat's claw seed powder; while the remaining group was not supplemented, serving as a control.
Hormonal analyses after 90 days found no significant changes in sex hormones, however semen analyses showed that both total sperm count and sperm motility increased in the moderately supplemented group.
The results suggest that extracts from this wild plant hold promise for providing a low-cost treatment to improve male fertility, amid a worldwide decline in sperm quality that has left many couples struggling with infertility.
Of course, scientists will need to do more research, including conducting clinical trials, to find the right dosage for humans.
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