ANTIFERTILITY ACTIVITY OF SIMPLE ASCIDIAN, MICROCOSMUS EXASPERATUS - A HISTOPATHOLOGICAL APPROACH
Gomathy S.* and Meenakshi V.K.
ABSTRACT
One of the important concerns of today is problem of overpopulation which warrants immediate attention to control or check. The solution to this predicament is birth control. The present study was designed to find out the effect of ethanol extract of Microcosmus exasperatus on the fertility of male albino rats. The extracts were administered orally by using IGC at different doses of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg for 14 days. Histopathological changes observed in the structure of seminiferous tubules, caput and cauda epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle and prostrate was recorded by photomicrograph. Histological analysis showed disrupted arrangement of seminiferous tubules, loosening of germinal epithelium and low counts of leydig cells, germ cells and sperm cells. Thickness of tunica albugenia, seminiferous tubule diameter and germinal epithelial height reduced significantly in treated compared to control. Histomorphology of the epididymus showed a decrease in tubule size, epithelial height and a reduction in sperm number in the tubular lumen. This study suggests that Microcosmus exasperatus at a higher dose (150 mg/kg) tends to suppress spermatogenesis and is hence liable to cause infertility in male rats.
Keywords: Ascidian, Microcosmus exasperatus, Histopathology, Antifertility.
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