IP International Journal of Comprehensive and Advanced Pharmacology 2022;7(2):96–101 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals IP International Journal of Comprehensive and Advanced Pharmacology Journal homepage: https://www.ijcap.in/ Original Research Article Antifertility activity of Momordica dioica and Lagerstroemia speciosa in experimental rats Krishna Patil 1 , Manojkumar Mahajan 1 , Aman Upaganlawar 1, *, Chandrashekhar Upasani 1 1 Dept. of Pharmacology, SNJB’s Shriman Suresh Dada Jain College of Pharmacy, Chandwad, Maharashtra, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 27-01-2022 Accepted 31-01-2022 Available online 16-05-2022 Keywords: Antifertility Antiovulatory Momordica dioica Lagerstroemia speciosa Sperm count Estrous cycle ABSTRACT Agents that control fertility are termed as antifertility agents or oral contraceptives. Many plant-based products have the antifertility potential which need to be explored. The present study therefore was undertaken to evaluate possible antifertility effects of hydroalcoholic extract of fruits of Momordica dioica (HAEMD) and aqueous extract of leaves of Lagerstroemia speciosa (AELS) in experimental rats. Experiments were carried using wistar rats of either sex. Animals were administered with different doses of HAEMD and AELS (250, and 350 mg/kg, p. o) for 30 days. The body weight and reproductive organs weights for male (Testis) and for female (Uterus) were analyzed. Sperm count and Sperm motility was determined in male rats by manually. Testosterone in male and progesterone levels in female rats were checked. Effect of both extracts on Estrous cycle in female rats were checked. Section of testis were taken for histopathological study. The effect of the extract on male rats showed decreased testis weight, reduced sperm count and motility as compared to control animals. The blood testosterone level in male rats was reduced in treatment groups. The testicular histology was altered as compared to control male rats. In female animals, extracts showed antiovulatory activity, alteration in estrous cycle, decreased uterus weight and serum progesterone levels. It is concluded that HAEMD and AELS are effective as antifertility plants for both male and female rats. This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. For reprints contact: reprint@ipinnovative.com 1. Introduction The world population is growing at an alarming rate of 176 people per minute, with a current estimate of 6 billion people predicted to exceed 10.8 billion by the year 2050. India is the world’s second most populous nation. Such population explosion may adversely affect country’s economic development, imposes burden on health services and therefore is serving as the major threat to families and societies. Also, growing population has impact on available resources which is linked to the variety of problems including unemployment, starvation, etc. There * Corresponding author. E-mail address: amanrxy@gmail.com (A. Upaganlawar). is an urgent need to provide the world’s population with secure and long-term reliable fertility control. 1,2 Research on oral contraceptives for controlling human fertility is as old as recorded history. Despite the availability of wide range of synthetic contraceptives, these cannot be used regularly due to their negative health effects. Thus, the quest for antifertility agents in natural sources is one method being used to find newer remedies. In the ancient Indian literature like Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani, many plant based preparations claimed to possess fertility-regulating properties. Many plants and plant-based formulations have been used to safely control fertility, which has led to the creation of new antifertility molecules derived from natural products. Some active constituents were isolated and are https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijcaap.2022.018 2581-5555/© 2022 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 96