www.bvgtjournal.com January to March 2014 Scientific Transactions in Environment and Technovation INTRODUCTION Population means the number of inhabitants in a specific territory. The United Nations estimated the world population as 5.385 billion in the middle of 1991(Bingel ,1973). During 1980-1990 the average rate of increase was 1.7%. India will cross seven billion marks by 2022 (Barbara, 1992). Asia has 58.8% of the world population with a growth rate of 2.2%. India comes second with 16% of the population after China, which has the largest population in the world. Food production is increasing in an arithmetic progression, while the population is increasing in geometric progression. Compared to natural and human resource of the country, India is definitely over populated. To control the menace of population explosion, many nations have enmarked various programmes of family welfare.This has brought down the rate of population to some extent (Khanna,1968). There are manifold cause for over population .India is known for early marriages, this gives longer span for reproductive activity .The other contributing factors for over population are tropical, climate, total beliefs, ignorance , illiteracy, lack of respect for women, lack of recreational facilities, scarcity of technical advices ,absence of welfare schemes and a vertical decline of death rate (Riar,1991). The uncontrolled growth of population results in creation of various fundamental problems like unemployment, inadequate civic facilities, overcrowding of urban areas, low per capital income, starvation, sub human conditions of life and increase in crime rate. Hence the fertility control has become most important and urgent mainstay of all biomedical and biosocial problems facing the mankind (Kasturi, 2002). The need for evolving more acceptable and more effective means of contraception, for both male and female, with nil or minimum side effects is more actually felt now, than Evaluation of antifertility activity of Limonia cranulata L. in albino rats. S. Manikandaselvi*, S. Geetha and E. Priya PP. G Department of Biochemistry, STET Women’s college, Mannargudi. Abstract Antifertility activity of different dosages of Limonia cranulata L. in albino rats was studied. The parameters used in the study include number of implants in individual, number of neonates, weight of neonates, pregnancy rate, cholesterol level in ovary and estradiol content of female rats, and number of sperm cell and testosterone from male rats. Administration of L. cranulata L. demonstrates implantation activity and reduced number of neonates, that is consistent with its use in folk medicine as an contraceptive agent. Keywords : Antifertility, Limonia cranulata , neonates. J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov. 2014, 7(3) : 130-134 Scientific Transactions in Environment and Technovation *Corresponding author : email: selvithinagar@gmail.com 130 ever before. India has rich heritage of use of medicinal plants for fertility controls. In this context, it will be appropriate to locate indigenous plants that are used as oral contraceptives by tribes and other sections. Such plants are even recommended in folk medicines and Ayurvedic medicines from very ancient times. Several scientific papers have already been published related to use of medicinal plants for fertility control. But, still many more medicinal plants are left uninvestigated. Owing to this fact, many scientists are presently engaged in the search for a safe,acceptable both by male and female , effective, easily administrable, reversible, cheep and non-steroidal antifertility agents from the extracts of plants, commonly grown in India and other parts of the world. In the present study, L. cranulata L. (Rutaceae) was used for the investigation of antifertility activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimental Animals Albino rats (150-200g) of either sex of 6–8 weeks age were selected for this study. The animals were kept in clean and dry plastic cages, with 12h : 12h light–dark cycle at 25 ± 2ºC temperature and 45 – 55 % relative humidity. The animals were fed with standard pellet diet and water was given ad libitum. Preparation of herbal drug The plant, Limonia cranulata was collected from herbal garden of S.T.E.T Women’s college, Mannargudi. Collected plant was carefully examined and then identified with help of regional flora. Specimen was further confirmed with reference to herbarium sheets available in the Rapinat Herbarium, St.Joseph college, Thiruchirappalli. The leaves and fruits were dried in shade and subjected to pulverization to get fine powder. The collected parts of this plant were processed by Murugesha Mudaliyar method and filtrated through “Vasthrakaya”method.