Elucidation of anti – infertility potential of Phyllanthus gomphocarpus (Cermela Hutan) on dietary adminstered endocrine disruptor bisphenol a (BPA) in rats / Ebby Anuar Bahari

Male infertility caused by various factors attributes a detrimental effect to couples if not been addressed properly. Phyllanthus gomphocarpus is one of the Malay traditional herbs that was traditionally claimed to have positive impacts towards human health and enhance male fertility. Three different time and temperature setting for 10% aqueous extraction preparation, which is 40ºC/12 hours, 60ºC/6 hours, and 100ºC/30 minutes were used and its antioxidant capacity were determined by using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) analysis. The extract with the highest antioxidants capacity from the optimum extraction setting was selected to be used in the animal trials. Twenty four fertile male Wistar albino rats, weight about 200 grams were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=6), and labeled as negative control (NEC) group, positive control (POC) group, PGR50 group and PGR800 group. Except to NEC group that was given distilled water as placebo, other groups were induced genitotoxicity by giving 200 mg/kg of bisphenol-A (BPA) via oral gavage. Rats in PGR50 and PGR800 groups were supplemented with 50 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg of Phyllanthus gomphocarpus root extract (PGR) respectively. Experimental period was set for 21 days. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed; their sperm, blood and testes were collected for analysis. The results showed that PGR possessed high antioxidative properties characterized with lower temperature and longer time preparation. For the animal trial, both PGR supplementation groups were significantly increased most of the parameters including sperm concentration, motility, velocity, elongation, percentages of normal sperm morphology, serum testosterone (T), serum dihydrotesterone (DHT) and the epithelial height of the seminiferous tubules compared to NEC and POC groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, PGR extract possessed beneficial effect towards improvement of male infertility but the precise mechanism of action of PGR on male reproductive system is yet to be further explored.