Are there any effect of bitter kola on sperm? continue reading. Overtime, the issue of low sperm count and other sexual dysfunctions have being a challenge to most men and in search of solutions, men have consumed many things, they have tried both synthetic and natural methods of which most left them with more complications while most provided solutions to them.

In this article, we will be talking about one of the natural approach to this dysfunctions in men, we will be discussing bitter kola and it’s effect on the sperm.

What is Bitter Kola?

Bitter kola is a small tiny pieces of seed found majorly in Africa which has many health benefits to both men , women and children.

This bitter kola can also be called  ” GARCINIA KOLA”. As the name implies, the kola has a very bitter taste and this property helps it a lot in it’s contributions to the healthy leaving of everyone taking it. It has been proposed that bitter kola contains certain chemicals ; xanthrones , triterpenes , cycloarenols and benzophenones.

As was stated by wiely online library in Andrologia ) that aids it’s health benefits. 

Experiment to show the Effect of Bitter Kola on Sperm

Experiment has proven that Garcinia kola has a positive effect on sperm, that is to say that with all factors being equal, an intake of bitter kola helps to improve sperm count by improving testosterone level of male.      

According to the experiment (conducted by Wiley online library and record in Andrologia/ volume 48). Adult male wistar rats were treated orally with 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg of a 70% ethanolic extract of bitter kola daily for 56 days after which organ weight , sperm count , reproductive hormone levels and testicular histology were accessed.    

The adult rats weighing 280-340 g were used for the study.

The male wistar rats were divided into four treatment groups with 6 – 8 rats in each group. The grouping was as thus;       

Group 1 : control – distilled water        

Group 2 : 100mg per kg body weight of bitter kola        

Group 3 : 200 mg per kg body weight of bitter kola        

Group  4 : 400 mg per kg body weight of bitter kola The rats were treated orally for 56 days.

On the 56th day , the rats were weighed and deeply anaesthetised with sodium pentobarbital ( 65 mg per kg IP). Blood was collected by cardiac puncture into plain tubes and serum collected by centrifugation ( 3000g for 10 mins ) and stored at -80°C until used to assay for total testosterone.   

Cauda epididymidis was separated and used for sperm count test. Briefly, the organ was placed in a petri dish with 10ml of warmed buffer normal saline , pH 7.2. Cauda epididymidis was minced using a pair of scissors and the Petri dish at 37°C to allow spermatozoa to swim into the warmed normal saline to form a suspension.

A tissue – free aliquot was further diluted (6×) and loaded onto the neubauer haemocytometer ( deep 1/10 mm, labart, Germany). Five squares were counted in triplicate per sample , sperm count were calculated and recorded as million of sperm per ml using the final 60× dilution in calculation.

In the same haemocytometer field, motile spermatozoon was counted and sperm motility calculated as percentage of total spermatozoa. The sperm viability was determined using eosin / nigrosin stain. Pink stained spermatozoa were considered as viable and unstained sperm considered as viable. Sperm viability was expressed as a percentage. 

The result showed that all bitter kola treated rats showed a highly significant increase in sperm count of about 50% compared to untreated control with no change in sperm motility. It was observed that there was a significant increase in total serum testosterone level in all bitter kola treated groups compared to control.  

After the experiment Wiley online library were able to conclude that Garcinia kola resulted in and increased testosterone level irrespective of dose. There was a 50% increase in sperm count in bitter kola treated rats compared to control , corresponding to an increase in testis weight but with no change in other reproductive organ weight. ( Wiley online library in Andrologia volume 48 ).     

However, it has also been proven that an excessive intake of the bitter kola as in the case of group 4 rats in the experiment of Wiley online library results to a decrease in the sperm count and can also lead to other sexual dysfunctions.

Summary of the Effect of Bitter Kola on Sperm

• Adequate intake boost sperm count as indicated in the experiment above
• It helps to increase testosterone levels regardless of the dose
• Excessive intake can lead to decrease instead of increase in sperm count
• Too much intake of bitter kola can also result in other sexual dysfunctions

So, based on the experiment above, it can be said that bitter kola helps in improvement of sperm count and it is advisable for anyone anyone facing sperm dysfunctions to make use of bitter kola for improvement but such person should be mindful of the quantity consumed as excess consumption of bitter kola can lead to many complications not merely sperm dysfunctions.