Testicular characteristics of West African Dwarf (WAD) rams administered aqueous Aspilia africana extract

Abstract

The effects of Aspilia africana on testicular consistency and morphometric characteristics of rams were determined. Twenty-four rams were used for the experiment in a completely randomised design. There were 4 treatment groups with 6 rams per group. Each treatment was replicated 3 times with 2 rams per replicate. T1 (control) received 10 ml of distilled water, T2, T3 and T4 received 1000 mg kg-1 Body Weight (BW), 2000 mg kg-1 BW and 3000 mg kg-1 BW of aqueous A. africana extract orally, respectively for 64 days. Testicular consistencies were determined by palpating the testes of experimental animals and scoring them weekly. A day after the administration of the extract, 4 rams in each treatment group were slaughtered and testicular morphometric parameters measured. No significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in testicular consistencies of the rams among the various treatment groups, pre-experiment. However, statistical differences (P<0.05) existed in testicular consistencies of the rams among the various treatment groups during experiment with rams in T1 still retaining the same testicular consistencies pre-experiment (2.50), whereas scores for treated rams increased to 3.50, 3.50 and 4.50 for T2 , T3 and T4 , respectively. Rams in T4 had the highest mean score while rams in control group (T1 ) had the lowest mean values. With exception of Tunica albuginea weight and testes density, testicular morphometric parameters varied significantly. T1 had the highest significant values in all the measured parameters while T4 had the lowest values. This indicates that A. africana may negatively affect testicular characteristics and might be deleterious to fertility of rams. Thus, it is recommended that A. africana is not suitable for feeding breeding animals.