Andrologia. 2018;e13037. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/and | 1 of 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/and.13037 © 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 1 | INTRODUCTION Sexual intimacy is an important aspect of normal and healthy living. Several factors such as old age, disease/medical conditions such as psychiatric disorders, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, Addison’s disease, temporal lobe lesions can lead to decreased sexual func- tion and performance and cause decreased relationship satisfaction and low self-esteem in humans (Montgomery, 2008). Several aetiol- ogies of sexual disorders have been laid down including deficiency of androgens, ageing, psychological disorders and side effects of some centrally or peripherally acting drugs, chronic alcohol abuse and smoking (Yakubu, Akanji, & Oladiji, 2005). Sexual disorders can lead to infertility, that is the loss of ability in conceiving after at least 1 year of unprotected intercourse. Sexual dysfunction includes premature ejaculation, retrograded, retarded or inhibited ejacula- tion, erectile dysfunction, difficulties in arousal (decreased libido), orgasmic disorders and failure of detumescence. Oligozoospermia (sperm count less than 15 million/ml) is one of the important causes of infertility in males. Almost 2% of all men suffer from subopti- mal parameters of spermatozoa (Kumar & Singh, 2015). Erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation and oligozoospermia are the most common problems, which contribute towards infertility in males. Although sexual dysfunction is rarely a threat to physical health, it can lead to psychological conditions such as depression and weary feelings of inadequacy. Sexual disorders affect 10%–52% of the male population and 25%–63% of the female population (Hosseinzadeh, Ziaee, & Sadeghi, 2008). Erectile dysfunction (ED) in men has been widely studied sexual disorder. Viagra (Sildenafil), the first drug approved pharmacologically for impotence, made the problem of ED come into limelight. It is estimated that by the year 2025, about 322 million men worldwide will be suffering from ED (Kandeel, Koussa, & Swerdloff, 2001). Drugs such as sildenafil and L-Dopa have been found to have a potential role in treating sexual dysfunction. However, they produce only temporary relief and lead Accepted: 22 March 2018 DOI: 10.1111/and.13037 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Chemically characterised extract of Saraca asoca improves the sexual function in male Wistar rats M. Gill 1 | A. Rai 1,2 | M. Kinra 1 | S. Sumalatha 3 | C. M. Rao 1 | S. P. Cheruku 1 | R. Devkar 4 | N. Kumar 1 1 Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India 2 Ecron Acunova Ltd., Manipal, India 3 Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India 4 Department of Pharmacognosy, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India Correspondence Nitesh Kumar, Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India. Emails: niteshkumar43@gmail.com; nitesh.kumar@manipal.edu Funding information Manipal Academy of Higher Education Summary In this study, methanolic extract of Saraca asoca bark was evaluated for its aphro- disiac potential using male and female Wistar albino rats. Male rats were dosed daily for 54 days at a dose of 100 mg/kg p.o. Sexual activity of male rats was assessed after 14, 28, 42 and 54 days of the study. Male rats were placed in a glass chamber lit with a dim red light (10W) followed by the introduction of sexually receptive female rats in a ratio of 1:1. Improvement in sexual behaviour of male rats was characterised by an increase in both mount frequency and intromission frequency and decrease or reduction in mount latency and intromission latency compared to normal control. After completion of the study, the effect of the S. asoca extract on sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology was also assessed. The extract of S. asoca bark was found to be safe as it did not affect these sperm parameters. From this study, it was found that methanolic extract of S. asoca bark plays a role in enhancing sexual behaviour and potential without causing reproductive toxicity. KEYWORDS aphrodisiac, erectile dysfunction, Saraca asoca, sexual function