Common herbal tonic for pain in pregnancy contributes to male infertility —Study

<p>HERBAL medications are commonly viewed by pregnant women as a safe, natural substitute for conventional drugs and they are frequently used to maintain their health or manage non-life threatening issues.</p>, <p>Pregnant women use herbal medicines for a variety of reasons such as for pregnancy-associated disorders, including nausea, vomiting and labour enhancement, as well as for illnesses and diseases due to pregnancy such as fatigue, respiratory and skin issues and nutritional benefits.</p>, <p>Despite minimal scientific evidence demonstrating the safety profile of herbal therapy, experts warn that pregnant women should be wary of consuming Aerva lanata to relieve stomach pains and prevent miscarriage.</p>, <p>In a new study, the researchers said consuming Aerva lanata during pregnancy can have a toxic effect on the testes of the unborn baby, possibly contributing to infertility later in life.</p>, <p>The study was reported in the International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine.</p>, <p>Studies in animals showed that the administration of the crude extract of Aerva lanata at different doses at the critical period of organ formation during pregnancy disrupted the sperm production in the juvenile testes of Wistar rats. It also affected the space between the seminiferous tubules, the site of formation of sperm.</p>, <p>In Nigeria, the Yoruba refer to Aerva lanata as Ewi-owo or Ewe Aje, while the Hausa call it Furfurata. It has been reported to be used to treat kidney-related infections, fever, guinea worm infection, diabetes, bleeding from a cut and eye disease. Also, pregnant women take its extract as a tonic to relieve stomach pains and prevent miscarriage.</p>, <p>The researchers at the University of Benin had investigated the testicular toxicity of the crude aqueous extract of Aerva lanata on testes of offspring of 25 dams. Group A served as control; groups B, C, D and E received 200, 400, 800 and 1000 mg/kg body weight of Aerva lanata extract, respectively, beginning from 12th to 19th day of gestation.</p