Ethnopharmacological communication Antifertility effect of hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Michelia champaca L.: An ethnomedicine used by Bhatra women in Chhattisgarh state of India Seema Taprial, Deepak Kashyap, Vineet Mehta, Sunil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar n Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India article info Article history: Received 14 October 2012 Received in revised form 14 January 2013 Accepted 2 March 2013 Available online 14 March 2013 Keywords: Anti-fertility Anti-implantation Estrogenic Hydroalchoholic extract Michelia champaca abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: Michelia champaca L. (family: Magnoliaceae), commonly known as Champa [Hindi], is traditionally used for fertility regulation by the women of Chhattisgarh state in India. No scientific evidence regarding the antifertility effect of this plant is available till date. Aim of the study: To study the anti-fertility effect of hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Michelia champaca Linn. in female rats. Materials and methods: The antifertility activity of the extract (HAEMC) administered at dose levels (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) was evaluated in two experimental animal models i.e. antiimplantation activity in female wistar rats and esterogenic/antiestrogenic activity in ovariectomized female rats. In anti-implantation activity, the extract (200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) was administered to female rats from 1 to 7 days of pregnancy and on 10th day, laprotomy was performed to count the no. of implants. For estrogenic/anti-estrogenic activity, ovariectomized female rats were administered with the extract at both the doses alone as well as along with 17α-ethinyl estradiol (1 μ/rat/ day) for 7 consecutive days. On the 8th day, all animals were sacrificed and blood serum was further processed for the estimation of biochemical parameters such as estrogen level, alkaline phosphates, cholesterol, tryglycerides, total protein etc. Results: The extract (HAEMC) showed significant (p o0.01) 49.95% and 71.03% antiimplantation activities at 100 and 200 mg/kg doses respectively. The extract also exhibited significant (p o0.01) estrogenic activity as evidenced by increase in body weight, uterine weight, increased thickness and height of endometrium, vaginal cornification and significant (p o0.01) increase in estrogen, cholesterol, alkaline phosphate and triglycerides levels at higher dose when administered alone as well as along with ethinyl estradiol. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of steroids, flavonoids and alkaloids in the extract. Conclusions: Hydroalchoholic extract of Michelia champaca leaves possesses significant antifertility effect which might be due to the inhibition of implantation and estrogenic effect which in turn might be due to the presence of some phytoconstituents in the plant. & 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction World population has reached to an alarming rate and is the main cause of poverty. Raise in the population level especially in the developing countries intensifies the need for effective birth control measures. In the area of female fertility regulation, orally active anti-fertility agents are mainly focused since last six decades. The search for relatively cheap, widely available, widely accepted and effective natural antifertility drugs obtained from medicinal plants might be an alternative for healthcare pro- grammes of the increasing world population particularly of developing countries (Lemb  e et al., 2012). The synthetic contra- ceptive agents available today for fertility control produce severe side effects like hormonal imbalance, hypertension, and increased risk of cancer and weight gain (McNamara, 1996). This deficiency gives challenging encouragement to pharmaceutical and modern science for the development of more potent drugs with little toxic effects, self-administrable, less expensive and completely reversible. Michelia champaca L. (Magnoliaceae), commonly known as Champa [Hindi], Hempushpa [Sanskrit], Golden champa [English], is an evergreen plant mainly cultivated in gardens and near temples for its fragrant flowers and handsome foliage in India (Kritikar and Basu, 2003). Traditionally, various parts of the plant are used in the treatment of various diseases like fever, colic, leprosy, eyes disorders, inflammation, antidote for scorpion and Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jep Journal of Ethnopharmacology 0378-8741/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2013.03.003 n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 1744 239617, Mobile: þ91 9466772500; fax: þ91 1744 238277. E-mail address: dineshbarbola@yahoo.co.in (D. Kumar). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 147 (2013) 671–675