​Herbal preparations boost male, female fertility .

Guardian. Lagos. Nigeria. 22.11.12

​

Herbal preparations made of plants including ginger, sweet potato and cowhage have been shown to be effective in treating male and female infertility by several clinical trials. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
SEVERAL studies have shown that the number of infertile couples is on the rise or rather the number of couples unable to achieve pregnancy at least three years after marriage.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines infertility as the failure to conceive after one year of regular unprotected intercourse with the same partner.
Indeed, more men are firing blanks as a result of low sperm count and quality. The women are not faring better. More women are shedding fewer and poor quality eggs due to hormonal and menstrual disorders.
Defects in sperms are associated with low sperm concentration (oligospermia), poor sperm motility (asthenospermia) or abnormal sperm morphology (teratospermia). These defects are collectively called as oligoasthenoteratospermia.
Menstrual disorders include: oligomenorrhoea is infrequent menses occurring at intervals longer than 35 days; menorrhagia is excessive menses in amount (greater than 80 ml. blood loss per cycle) as well as duration (greater than five days); Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding (DUB) is excessive uterine bleeding where the cause cannot be detected. Dysmenorrhoea is menstruation associated with severe pain.
But herbal preparations made specifically for men and another for women have shown promise in clinical trials.
A combination of plants extracts has been demonstrated to prevent premature ejaculation, and boost sperm quality, quantity and motility.
A clinical study on Addyzoa, produced by Charak Pharmaceuticals India and marketed in Nigeria by Fidson Healthcare Plc, concluded that treatment with the drug is effective in improving the semen quality by increasing the sperm count and sperm motility.
Also, clinical trial of another herbal preparation marketed as M2 Tone showed that it is very effective in the treatment of unexplained infertility in females; and in irregular menstruation, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhoea, sterility and menopausal disturbances such as leg cramps, irritability, lack of concentration, hot flushes.
M2 Tone syrup is a herbo-mineral formulation blended with 47 natural chemically active ingredients, known for their efficacy in various gynaecological conditions.
Addyzoa is made of plants such as Emblica officinalis (Phyllanthus embilica), Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Asparagus racemosus, Chlorophytum tuberosum, Mucuna pruriens, Sida cordifolia, and Ipomoea digitata.
While M2 Tone is made up of plants such as Andropogon muricatus,Cuminum cyminum, Zingiber officinale, Caryophyllus aromaticus, Piper cubeba, Bombax malabaricum, Symplocos racemosa, Bryonia laciniosa, Terminalia chebula, Ficus bengalensis,, and Asparugas racemosus.
Zingiber officinale is commonly called ginger. It is of plant family Zingiberaceae.
Ipomoea digitata, commonly called sweet potato, belongs to the plant family Convolvulaceae.
Mucuna pruriens is commonly called cowhage or velvet bean. It is known as werepe in Yoruba and agbala or agboloko in Ibo. The velvet bean plant is notorious for the spiky hairs on the mature bean pods that are very irritating to the skin.
Tinospora cordifolia is a plant that belongs to the menispermaceae family. The common names of the plant include hearth leaves and moon seed. It is called epa ikun in Yoruba.
Chroropphytum tuberosum belongs to Anthericaceae family. It is called albasar kwadi in Hausa.
Asparagus racemosus belongs to the plant family Asparagaceae. The plant grows throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of India up to an altitude of 1500 metre.
Withania somnifera belongs to the family Solanaceae. It is called burrwood, horse root, Winter cherry in English. It is called karama anta in Hausa.
Sida cordifolia (bala, country mallow, heart-leaf sida or flannel weed) is a perennial sub-shrub of the mallow family Malvaceae.
Phyllanthus emblica (syn. Emblica officinalis), the Indian gooseberry, or aamla’, is a deciduous tree of the Phyllanthaceae family. It is known for its edible fruit of the same name.
The clinical study on M2 Tone was conducted on 50 women of unexplained infertility at the final count. 50 per cent each were administered M2 Tone syrup and placebo to scientifically reassess efficacy at primary level.
M2 Tone is also marketed in Nigeria by Fidson Healthcare Plc.
The results of the clinical trials published in Obstetrics & Gynaecology showed “33.3 per cent conception rate with full safety in M2 Tone group, even though the duration of the trial was short, nine months.  One conception was reported in the patients on placebo. Additionally, in 36.3 per cent women, M2 Tone cured menstrual irregularities. All the women with menorrhagia and hypomenorrhoea and 75 per cent with spasmodic dysmenorrhoea responded favourably. The mechanism by which M2 Tone acts is by its proven ‘estrogenic’ effect on the female reproductive system, either directly or through pituitary gonadotropins, as also by its ‘antioxytocic’ activity.”
Another study titled “Role of an Ayurvedic Formulation M2-T0NE in Gynaecological Disorders” and published The Antiseptic A Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery concluded: “A short term clinical study using M2-TONE syrup was undertaken on 100 patients suffering from DUB, vaginal white discharge, menstrual irregularities, dysmenorrhoea, delayed puberty, sterility, menopausal syndrome. Immediate response seems encouraging in patients from irregular cycles, dysmenorrhoea, DUB, vaginal discharge, menopausal syndrome and raise hopes in sterility.”
Researchers have also found that M2 Tone could be successfully used to enhance implantation Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)/ In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).
Meanwhile, a double-blind, randomised controlled trial was planned to evaluate the efficacy of an antioxidant herbo-mineral formulation, Addyzoa in oligoasthenospermia in comparison with Ubiquinone published recently in Phytopharmacology & Therapeutic Values III  concluded: “Treatment with Addyzoa is effective in improving the semen quality by increasing the sperm count and enhancing sperm motility and morphology.
“Treatment with Addyzoa resulted in a larger increase in sperm count as compared to Ubiquinone, though the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, a significant increase of 1.5 to 2 times in motility was observed with Addyzoa and Ubiquinone treatment. Improvement in morphology was also observed in both groups. Thus, Addyzoa is a better option for treating male infertility as it also provides an advantage over Ubiquinone in terms of cost of therapy. Further trials in a larger number of patients are required to corroborate the findings of this study.”
In previous studies, the efficacy and safety of Addyzoa in improving seminal parameters has been studied extensively. The effect of six month’s therapy with Addyzoa on sperm parameters was investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 200 men with idiopathic subfertility.
The results indicated that Addyzoa resulted in statistically significant improvements in sperm density (368 per cent), motility (197 per cent) and morphology (183 per cent) as well as other routine sperm tests. Pregnancy rates among the subfertile couples, to which these men belonged, were found to be 25 per cent with Addyzoa over a two-year follow-up period as compared to two per cent with placebo.
The effects of Addyzoa on male factor subfertility have also been compared with clomiphene citrate. In a six-month, randomized study of Addyzoa in 100 men in comparison with clomiphene, treatment with Addyzoa resulted in statistically significant improvements in sperm density, motility, morphology as well as other routine sperm tests.
The study was published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics.