Anti-fertility activity

Dhar, S.K. 1995. Anti-fertility activity and hormonal profile of fraws-anethole in rats. Indian. Physiol. Pharmacol. 39(l) 63-67. ESCOP. 2003. ESCOP monographs The scientific foundation for herbal medicinal products. 2nd ed. Exeter, UK European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy. 

Anti-Fertility Activity - At a dose of 2 mg in rats, A -THC suppressed the cyclic surge of luteinizing hormone secretion and also suppressed ovulation (a characteristic shared by other CNS-active drugs). However, mating and fertility indices were similar for control and all treatment groups in a study of the effect of A -THC on reproduction in rats. At doses of 2 and 3 mg/kg, A -THC caused a deterioration in the sexual performance of male rats (interpreted as reflecting a decreased motivation to copulate)... 

Non-steroids - Interest in non-steroidal agents for reproduction control appears to be increasing. Several tetrahydronaphthalene derivatives of basic structure 11 have potent estrogenic and anti fertility activity. ... 

Zheng J. Screening of active anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and anti-fertility components of Tripterygium wildfordii III. A comparison of the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities of 7 diterpene lactones epoxides compounds in vivo. Zhongguo Yixue Kexueyuan Xuebao 1991 13 391-397. 

The compound trans-anethole, isolated from fennel essential oil, exhibited dose-dependent anti-implantation activity in rats administered doses of 50 to 80 mg/kg on days 1 to 10 of pregnancy. At the 80 mg/kg dose level, administration on days 1 and 2 of pregnancy did not cause any changes in fertility while with the same dose administered on days 3 to 5 of pregnancy no implantation occurred. The same dose administered on days 6 to 10 of pregnancy caused a reduction in the number of pregnancies. No malformations were observed in any of the animals born from treated mothers (Dhar 1995). 

Cambie, R.C., and A.A. Brewis. 1997. Anti-fertility plants of the Pacific. Collingwood, Victoria, Australia CSIRO Publishing. Carr, M.E., J. Klotz, and M. Bergeron. 2004. Coumadin resistance and the vitamin supplement "Noni." Am. /. Hematol. 77(1) 103. Chearskul, S., S. Koopiwut, S. Chatchawalvanit, et al. 2004. Morinda citrifolia has very weak estrogenic activity in vivo. Thai ). Physiol. Sci. 17 22-29. 

In mice orally administered 10 or 20 mg/kg of the compound piperine daily for 14 days, an increase in the period of the diestrous phase was observed, resulting in decreased mating performance and fertility. Postpartum litter growth was not affected by the piperine treatment. Considerable anti-implantation activity was recorded after 5 days postmating oral treatment with piperine (Daware et al. 2000). 

Animal studies of pepper and the compound piperine have indicated some anti-implantation activity of these materials (Alkofahi et al. 1996 Daware et al. 2000). Another animal study indicated that piperine improved fertilization rates in artificially inseminated animals (Piyachaturawat and Pholpramool 1997). 

Prakash, A.O., V. Saxena, S. Shukla, et al. 1985. Anti-implantation activity of some indigenous plants in rats. Acta Eur. Fertil. 16(6) 441-448. 

In contrast to the clear evidence of adverse effects of PFCAs on male reproductive organs in animal studies, evidence from epidemiological studies is far less clear-cut. Impaired semen quality was associated with high levels of PFCs in non-occupationally exposed males in a Danish study (Joensen et al. 2009) but not in other studies (Raymer et al. 2012 Toft et al. 2012 Specht et al. 2012). No associations between semm PFOA and reproductive hormone levels were noted in an occupationally-exposed (Olsen et al. 1998) or Northern European (Specht et al. 2012) males. There is no information available regarding PFC activity at the androgen receptor. In summary, >C8 PFCAs appear to alter reproductive hormone homeostasis in male rodents and possibly in nonhuman primates without direct effects on fecundity in standard reproductive toxicity studies, possibly because of the high resilience of rodents to anti-fertility effects. The available data indicate that either FTOH may not be toxic to the male reproductive tract or are significantly less potent at these endpoints than PFCAs. 

The toxic alkaloid pelletierine is found in die root bark. Fruits with seeds contain polyphenolic compounds and estrogen. The latter is used for menopausal disorders and associated with fertility/contraception. The polyphenol ellagic acid shows anticarcinogenic effects (70,71) and antioxidant activity (72). Ellagitannins, including punicalin, show anti-HIV activity (73). 

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