Research Article The Root Aqueous Extract of Entada africana Guill. et Perr. (Mimosaceae) Inhibits Implant Growth, Alleviates Dysmenorrhea, and Restores Ovarian Dynamic in a Rat Model of Endometriosis Marie Alfrede Mvondo, 1 Stéphane Minko Essono, 1 Francis Désiré Bomba Tatsinkou, 1 Sylvin Benjamin Ateba, 2 and Dieudonné Njamen 2 1 Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Phytopharmacology, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon 2 Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon Correspondence should be addressed to Marie Alfrede Mvondo; mvondo.mariealfrede@yahoo.com Received 20 October 2017; Revised 24 November 2017; Accepted 11 December 2017; Published 31 December 2017 Academic Editor: Jairo Kennup Bastos Copyright © 2017 Marie Alfrede Mvondo et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Entada africana (Mimosaceae) was reported to have analgesic and antioxidant properties. he present study is aimed at investigating the efects of the root aqueous extract of Entada africana (EA) on an experimental model of endometriosis. he study was performed in rats orally treated with EA at doses of 127.5, 255, and 510mg/kg. Microgynon5 30 served as the reference substance. Estradiol valerate and oxytocin were used to induce dysmenorrhea. Endometrial implant levels of catalase and malondialdehyde (MDA) allowed estimating tissue oxidative status. Ovarian dynamic and rat sexual behavior were assessed through histological analysis of ovaries, uterus, and vagina. EA decreased dysmenorrhea at tested doses following a 7-day treatment ( < 0.001). Endometrial implant volume decreased following the three treatment periods ( < 0.05). Catalase activity ( < 0.001) and MDA level (< 0.01) increased only following a 3-day treatment. EA also increased antral follicles, reduced luteinized unruptured follicle number ( < 0.001), and induced animals to be in the estrus phase. In conclusion, EA prevented the progress of endometriosis, reduced dysmenorrhea, promoted ovarian follicle growth, prevented anovulation, and stimulated the special period of rat sexual desire. hese results suggest that Entada africana could be a promising alternative option for the treatment of endometriosis. 1. Introduction Endometriosis is a chronic estrogen-dependent condition that causes dysmenorrhea, nonmenstrual pelvic pain, dys- pareunia, and infertility [1]. Due to its pain symptoms and high recurrence rate, endometriosis is oten associated with severely altered quality of patients’ private and professional life [2]. he treatment options are diverse and consist of analgesic therapies, hormonal therapies that focus on reduc- ing systemic levels of estrogen (e.g., progestins, androgens, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, oral con- traceptives, and aromatase inhibitors), surgery, or a combi- nation of these [3]. Unfortunately, these treatments are not fully efective and are associated with substantial side efects and frequent recurrences [4], hence the urgency to develop innovative active substances that are better tolerated and more eicient than the currently applied pharmacological and surgical approaches. here are scientiic evidences to suggest that medicinal herbs with analgesic and fertilizing properties are potential alternatives to treat endometriosis [5, 6]. Entada africana Guill. et Perr. (Mimosaceae) for instance is an African medicinal plant traditionally used to treat various ailments including female infertility, malaria, and rheumatism [7, 8]. he root bark decoction of this plant is recommended in Tchabal (Adamaoua region, Cameroon) as a cure for Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2017, Article ID 8563909, 15 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8563909