Evaluation of the Anti-Fertility Properties of Cissus Rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl. Extract in Female Wistar Rats (Rattus Norvegicus)

Abstract

Sexual and reproductive ill-health is responsible for over one-third of the global burden of disease among women of reproductive age (15-45 years). Approximately 200 million women in the developing world have an unmet contraceptive need. Consequently, about fifty-one million unintended pregnancies occur each year due to contraceptive none use and has led to unsafe abortions being carried out. In Kenya, 465 thousand abortions were carried out in 2012. Conventional steroid and non-steroid based compound contraceptives are effective when used according to directions but cause considerable side effects. Therefore, the search for novel, efficacious, affordable, reversible and safe anti-fertility agents with minimal side effects is imperative. In Tana River County of Kenya, the plant Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl., commonly known as Arabian wax leaf, has been traditionally used as a fertility regulator. The aim of this study was to validate the anti-fertility efficacy of the crude extract using Wistar rat model. The plant was obtained from Tana River County and transported to the University of Nairobi, where it was dried and an aqueous extract prepared. The acute oral toxicity on the aqueous plant extract was done in accordance to the OECD 423 guidelines. The phytochemical compounds present in Cissus rotundifolia aqueous extract were determined. The effect of the plant extract on the oestrus cycle was determined by administering 400, 800mg/kg of the extract and 0.5 ml physiological saline to three groups of five rats each respectively for 14 days. Vaginal smear cytological features from all rats were monitored daily between 9 and 10 am. The effect of C. rotundifolia aqueous extract on other reproductive parameters such as mating success, fertility index, litter size, and on ovarian and uterine histomorphology of Wistar rats was also determined. The plant extract caused no significant gross pathological changes in all the vital organs observed at dose level 300, 2000 and 5000mg/kg in the acute oral studies. The phytochemical studies showed that Cissus rotundifolia extract had alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenols and glycosides. The plant extract caused a dose-dependent significant increase in mean frequency of proestrus and metestrus phases and a significant reduction in estrus and diestrus phases (p<0.05). The plant extract did not cause a significant effect on mating success. It also caused a dose dependant reduction in fertility index in pre-mating, post-mating and pre-post treatment groups (p<0.05) compared to the control. The structural integrity of the pre-antral follicles, antral follicles, corpora lutea and uterine endothelial lining was compromised by Cissus rotundifolia extract at both doses. Based on the findings of this study, this plant extract has anti-ovulatory and anti-implantation properties and is a potential anti-fertility agent. Future studies should consider evaluating the reversible anti-fertility properties in laboratory animals