Abstract

Male infertility is defined as the inability of a male to make a fertile female pregnant, also for a minimum of at least one year of unprotected intercourse. Infertility affects about 15% of all couples in the United States and at least 180 million worldwide. Infertility is most commonly caused by problems in the system such as poor ejection of semen, abnormal spermatozoa, and absence or low levels of spermatozoa produced due to low testosterone levels. Some studies on Aframomum species, including Aframomum melegueta (a closely related species known as grains of paradise), suggest possible benefits for male reproductive health, such as increased libido and improved sexual performance, possibly due to their influence on androgenic (testosteronerelated) pathways. However, specific research on Aframomum alboviolaceum’s effects on testosterone is limited. This study aimed to assess the effect of Aframomum albovioceum on testosterone levels in male albino rats. Thirty male white Wistar strain albino rats with a weight of not less than 320g were used in the study and were divided into three groups: control, positive test one, and positive test two groups. The rats in the 3 groups were stabilized at the Standard Medical Diagnostic Laboratory mile 3 Nkwen, for 1 week before the experiment started. The rats in the positive test 1 group were orally fed with 50% normal food and 50% food supplemented with dried powdered Aframomum albovioceum plant. The positive test 2 group received 80% dried powdered Aframomum albovioceum plant and 20% normal food. The control group received 100% normal food. After one month of treatment, blood samples were collected and analyzed for testosterone levels using the Suresign Professional Finecare Analyser which uses the fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) technology. The results showed that the rats in the positive test groups had significantly higher levels of testosterone compared to the control group (p