European Journal of Medicinal Plants

This was an experimental study that evaluated the effect of aqueous, methanol and chloroform root extracts of Imperata cylindrica on serum levels of testosterone in male Wistar rats. Shade dried Imperata cylindrica roots were pounded and crude extracts prepared using distilled water, methanol and chloroform. Diabetes mellitus was induced with alloxan monohydrate and the diabetic rats were divided into six groups (n=8) and kept in separate cages. Group A rats were Non-Diabetic Rats Treated With Distilled Water. In Group B were placed Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats Treated with Distilled Water. Groups C, D and E contained Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats Treated with 200 mg/Kg body weight water, chloroform and methanol Imperata cylindrica root extracts in the given order. Group F was the Positive Control with Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats Treated with Glibenclamide [0.5 mg/kg body weight]. This treatment was carried out for 28 days sequentially. An analysis of the serum obtained from the rats after 28 days indicate that the extracts increased testosterone levels to varying degrees with the methanol extract producing the highest activity of 27.42 percent. This increase is from 3.23±0.04 ng/ml at baseline to 4.45±0.11 ng/ml after 28 days (p 0.0001). The increase due to aqueous extract was equally very statistically significant (p 0.0001) as the baseline concentration of testosterone, 3.35±0.08 ng/ml was increased by 23.70% to 4.39±0.32 ng/ml. The chloroform extract proved to be the least active of the extracts as it only increased the testosterone level by 11.76% from 3.15±0.19 ng/ml at baseline to 3.57±0.09 ng/ml after 28 days (p=0.0213). This was about two and half times lower than the methanol extract that elicited highest activity among the extracts and about four times less than the effect produced by the Group F rats treated with 0.5 mg/kg body weight of glibenclamide. The testosterone levels of Group F rats after 28 days increased to the levels seen in the normal control group that did not receive alloxan, from 3.17±0.12 to 5.51±0.25 ng/ml, a 42.47% change. This result indicates that methanol is the best extractant of the three solvents analyzed.