IOSR Journal Of Pharmacy And Biological Sciences (IOSR-JPBS) e-ISSN:2278-3008, p-ISSN:2319-7676. Volume 14, Issue 1 Ver. I (Jan – Feb 2019), PP 84-90 www.Iosrjournals.Org DOI: 10.9790/3008-1401018490 www.iosrjournals.org 84 | Page Beneficial Effects of Ethanolic Seed Extract of Cyperus esculentus on Blood Glucose and Sperm Quality in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats * Njoku-Oji N.N 1 , Ifegwu N.O 2 , Umahi G.O 3 , Sobanke A.O 1 , Uchefuna R.C 1 1 Physiology Department, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria 2 Anatomy Department, College of Health Sciences, Abia State University Uturu, Nigeria 3 Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Njoku-Oji N.N Abstract Background: An important complication of diabetes mellitus is the disturbance in the male reproductive system. Aim: To determine the effects of ethanolic seed extract of C. esculentus on blood glucose and sperm quality in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty- five (25) normal adult male wistar rats weighing between 150-200g were used. Group I Served as the positive control group and received distilled water only. Groups II- V were the test groups and were induced with diabetes. Group II was the negative diabetic control group with no treatment. Group III received 400mg/kg of C. esculentus. Group IV received 800mg/kg of C. esculentus while Group V received 150mg/kg of standard diabetic drug Metformin. Their fasting blood glucose levels were estimated. The animals were sacrificed and the semen sample was collected for sperm analysis. Results: Significant (P<0.05) increase in blood glucose level in group II (108.00±3.52 mg/dL) and significant decrease in group IV (57.0±2.49 mg/dL) when compared with the control group I (74.60±1.63 mg/dL). No significant difference in blood glucose was observed in groups III (79.0±3.07 mg/dL) and V (77.0±2.55 mg/dL) when compared with the control group I. There was significant decrease (P<0.05) in sperm count in group II (3.80 ± 0.22 x10 6 /mL) and significant increase in group IV (7.68 ± 0.20 x10 6 /mL) when compared with the control group I (6.16 ± 0.26 x10 6 /mL). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in sperm count in groups III (6.28 ± 0.19 x10 6 /mL) and V (5.60 ± 0.19 x10 6 /mL) when compared with control group I. The sperm motility and morphology significantly decreased in group II but significantly increased in group IV when compared with control group I. Groups III and V showed no significant difference in sperm motility and morphology when compared with the control. Conclusion: C. esculentus seed extract may be beneficial in diabetes mellitus as well as its deleterious effect on sperm quality. Key Words: Cyperus esculentus, Blood glucose, Diabetes, Sperm quality, Fertility --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 12-01-2019 Date of acceptance: 27-01-2019 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a major challenge in health care system around the world. It is considered as one of the five leading causes of death in the world (1) . The prevalence of diabetes mellitus for all age groups was estimated to be 2.8% in 2000, and will be 4.4% by 2030. The total number of people with diabetes is projected to rise from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030 (2) . Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemic condition along with impaired metabolic functions. Two types of diabetes mellitus exist; the first type is characterized by insufficient production of insulin and in the other type, the target cells do not respond to insulin. The chronic hyperglycemia condition leads to long term damage and failure of target organs (3) . Diabetes tends to damage cell membranes which results in elevated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The production of ROS appears to play a critical role in pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus (4) . An important complication of diabetes mellitus is the disturbance in the male reproductive system. Glucose metabolism is an important event in spermatogenesis. Diabetes mellitus induces molecular alterations which negatively affect sperm quality and function as well as fertility (5) . Many studies in both human and animal studies have confirmed the deleterious effect of diabetes mellitus on sexual functions such as; semen parameters, nuclear DNA fragment and chromatin quality (6,7) . The main goal of diabetes treatment is establishing of normal blood glucose and preventing or delaying its metabolic complications.