The Effect of Red Cabbage in Sperm Quality of Mus Musculus Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Red Cabbage in Sperm Quality of Mus Musculus Essay Our human species is not exactly known for its willingness to comply with divine instruction. But when God said unto them â€Å"Be fruitful and multiply†, they were more than eager to comply. They took the task to heart. They turned a duty into a pleasure. The majority of couples had no problem. A minority, however, were distressed because of delay or inability to conceive and bring forth children. Medicine tried to help them to conceive naturally. There remained, however, a group who could not reproduce naturally without assistance. Infertility affects more than 80 million people worldwide. In general, one in ten couples experiences primary or secondary infertility, but infertility rates vary amongst countries from less than 5% to more than 30%. The increasing prevalence of infertility cases is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries (WHO, 2002). The term â€Å"infertility† refers to inability to conceive after having regular unprotected sex. Infertility can also refer to the biological inability of an individual to contribute to conception, or to a female who cannot carry a pregnancy full term (Medical News Today, 2009). Though infertility was traditionally considered a woman’s issue, research has demonstrated that approximately 40 percent of infertility is due in part or entirely to male factors (Essay Empire, 2012). More than 90% of male infertility cases are known to be due to low sperm quality. In 30 – 40% cases of sperm abnormality, the main cause remains unknown but the rest could be due to health problems such as chronic disease, lack of nutrition, genetic abnormality and environmental factors. One of the contributing factors that affect sperm quality is the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) (Abdul Aziz, Farid and Mahanem Mat Noor, 2010). Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are highly reactive oxidizing agents (free radicals). They have long been known to be a component of the killing response of immune cells to microbial invasion (Paul Held, 2010). They are formed at various organs including the testes. Previous studies explained that testicular cells are well equipped with enzymatic and low molecular weight antioxidants to maintain redox homeostasis and prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the other hand, excessive formation of ROS may over-ride antioxidant defenses and results in oxidative stress that induced permanent damaged to testicular cells. Oxidative stress consequently results in abnormal sperm production and function. Therefore, natural antioxidants could possibly be able to minimize generation of an excess ROS and subsequently protect the testicular damage (Abdul Aziz et. al. , 2010). In recent times, the field of â€Å"green medicine† has witnessed a renaissance of interest as drugs of herbal origin are relatively inexpensive, accessible, and onsidered to be safe compared to synthetic counterparts (Parek and Chanda 2006; Venkatesh and Krishnakumari 2006). Drugs of herbal origin therefore, remain the main source of active drugs from a natural source and are still indispensable in the traditional field of alternative medicine for treating a number of diseases. According to the World Health Organization (1996), about 80% of the world’s population depends on alternative medicines. Red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L; Fam, Brassicaceae) is a commonly used dietary supplement that is rich in anthocyanins such as, cyanidin-3diglucoside-5-glucoside derivatives with various acylated groups connected to the diglucoside, mostly sinapoyl esters (Wu and Prior, 2005; Lo Scalzo, R. , Genna, A. , Branca, F. , Chedin, M. and Chassaigne, H. , 2008). Also, the presence of natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, ? -tocopherol and ? -carotene, lutein, and so on has been reported in the red cabbage extracts (Jagdish Singh, Upadhyay, AK. , Bahadur, A. , Singh, B. , Singh, KP. nd Mathura, Rai 2006). Many reports link Brassica vegetable intakes with reduced risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. The beneficial biological properties of these vegetables have been partially attributed to their dietary antioxidants. Despite the widespread use of red cabbage as dietary supplement, there is no literature on pharmacological evaluation of its effect on sperm quality. Present study was therefore undertaken to identify whether the extract of Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L. show any effects on sperm count, sperm morphology and sperm motility.