Aphrodisiac Potentials of Methanol Extract of Homalium letestui Root in Male Rats

Aims: In this study, the methanol extract of Homalium letestui root was investigated with a view to ascertaining the scientific basis for its ethnobotanical use, and establishing, if any, the mechanisms of its effects, as an aphrodisiac.

Methodology: The crushed root of Homalium letestui was soaked in methanol for 72h and filtered with Whatman paper No.4; the extract was stored at -4oC. Mature male rats were divided into three groups (active, sluggish, and impotent) and administered with various doses of the extract. The rats were, thereafter, observed for the following: mount latency, intromission latency, ejaculation latency, post ejaculation latency, mount frequency, intromission frequency, erection frequency, and penile erection latency.

Results: The result showed that the Homalium letestui root extract (n-butanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, petroleum ether and aqueous fractions) caused and maintained erection in the subjects, and their effects on the rats were dose-dependent and statistically significant (p<0.05-0.001). In addition, the aphrodisiac properties of the Homalium letestui root may in part be predicated on the properties of its phytochemical constituents which include alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and cardiac glycosides.

Conclusion: These findings, therefore, justify the Homalium letestui root’s folkloric use as a sexual performance enhancer and demonstrate that the plant possesses aphrodisiac properties.