Onion spermicidal effect

The experiment with 0.5 g/mL of erode extracts of different parts of Allium plants (bulb, green leaf, white stalk) showed the inhibition of acrosin and trypsin activities, mostiy the red onion and garlic extracts. These results demonstrated that spermicidal effect of Allium extracts is determined also by their capacity of protease inhibition. The red onion extract shows the higher antioxidant capacity and a very low cytotoxicity. 

The values of acrosin activity obtained by the method based on the Kennedy et al. assay are summarized in Table 41.1. The boar semen ( 6.5 x 10 spermatozoa/mL) was treated, or not, with plant extract (0.5 g/mL) and the inhibition of acrosin activity indicates the spermicidal effect of plant extracts, about 50% for red onion extract and 25% for garlic extract, for instance. 

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