Improved sexual behavior in male rats treated with a Chinese herbal extract: hormonal and neuronal implications
Improved sexual behavior in male rats treated with a Chinese herbal extract: hormonal and neuronal implications作者机构:Department of Biomedical Sciences Section of Pharmacology and National InterUniversity Consortium for the Study of Natural Active Principles University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Modena 41100 Italy
出 版 物:《Asian Journal of Andrology》 (亚洲男性学杂志(英文版))
年 卷 期:2008年第10卷第6期
页 面:937-945页
核心收录:
学科分类:1002[医学-临床医学] 100210[医学-外科学(含:普外、骨外、泌尿外、胸心外、神外、整形、烧伤、野战外)] 10[医学]
主 题:sexual behavior rats testosterone luteinizing hormone microdialysis dopamine 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid
摘 要:Aim: To investigate the influence of an extract obtained from five Chinese medicinal plants on sexual behavior of adult male rats. Methods: The extract was administered at doses of 30, 60 and 120 mg/kg by oral gavage, acutely (one time, 45 min before mating test) or subchronically (daily for 10 days) in sexually potent and sexually sluggish/impotent rats. Sexual behavior, serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) were evaluated in treated rats and compared with controls receiving vehicle. The effect of the extract on central dopaminergic neurotransmission was assessed in the nucleus accumbens using a microdialysis technique. Results: In sexually potent rats, both acute and subchronic treatment with the extract dosed at 30 and 60 mg/kg reduced mount latency and intromission latency. In sluggish/impotent rats, the acutely administered extract at the dose of 60 mg/kg shortened ejaculation latency, whereas subchronically administered at the doses of 30 and 60 mg/kg, reduced mount, intromission and ejaculation latencies, increasing also the percentage of mounting and ejaculating rats. The extract dosed at 60 mg/kg significantly increased LH and T following acute and subchronic administration and increased 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels in the nucleus accumbens, 30 min after the acute administration. Conclusion: The improvement in both appetitive and consummatory components of sexual behavior observed in male rats treated with the extract could be ascribed to increased serum T level in parallel with the activation of the central dopaminergic system.