Effect of Extracts of Ginger Goots and Cinnamon Bark on Fertility of Male Diabetic Rats

This study was performed to investigate the effects of ginger roots and cinnamon bark extracts on fertility of male diabetic rats and levels of blood glucose as well as serum insulin and testosterone hormones. The experiment was carried out on sixty mature male Sprague Dawley rats distributed into 6 groups of 10 rats each. One group was kept as normal control, while rats of the other five groups were rendered diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan in a dose of 120 mg/kg b.wt., as a single daily dose for 3 days. Group (2) was left as diabetic control, while rats of groups (3) and (4) were given orally ginger extract at 250 and 500 mg/kg b.wt., respectively, daily for 65 days to cover the period of spermatogenesis in the rat. Rats of groups (5) and (6) were given orally cinnamon extract at the same doses of ginger and for the same period. The results showed that oral administration ginger extract at 250 and 500 mg/kg and cinnamon extract at 500 mg/kg to diabetic male rats for 65 days increased the weight of testes and seminal vesicles; improved semen quality and quantity; decreased blood glucose level and increased serum insulin and testosterone levels. The extracts also ameliorated the degenerative lesions which seen in the testes of diabetic rats. This study recommends that intake of ginger roots or cinnamon bark as a drink may be beneficial for diabetic patients who suffer from sexual impotency as their extracts induce antidiabetic activity and enhance male fertility in diabetic rats. [Journal of American Science 2010;6(10):940-947]. (ISSN: 1545-1003).