title: Polysaccharides from wolfberry prevents corticosterone-induced inhibition of sexual behavior and increases neurogenesis.
abstract: Lycium barbarum, commonly known as wolfberry, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of infertility and sexual dysfunction. However, there is still a scarcity of experimental evidence to support the pro-sexual effect of wolfberry. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on male sexual behavior of rats. Here we report that oral feeding of LBP for 21 days significantly improved the male copulatory performance including increase of copulatory efficiency, increase of ejaculation frequency and shortening of ejaculation latency. Furthermore, sexual inhibition caused by chronic corticosterone was prevented by LBP. Simultaneously, corticosterone suppressed neurogenesis in subventricular zone and hippocampus in adult rats, which could be reversed by LBP. The neurogenic effect of LBP was also shown in vitro. Significant correlation was found between neurogenesis and sexual performance, suggesting that the newborn neurons are associated with reproductive successfulness. Blocking neurogenesis in male rats abolished the pro-sexual effect of LBP. Taken together, these results demonstrate the pro-sexual effect of LBP on normal and sexually-inhibited rats, and LBP may modulate sexual behavior by regulating neurogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Benson Wui-Man
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Jada Chia-Di
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sophia Man-Yuk
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: Yan-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.forename: Jiangang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Raymond Chuen-Chung
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Kwok-Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: So
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D032305:Lycium / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011134:Polysaccharides; C500223:lycium barbarum polysaccharide; D003561:Cytarabine; D003345:Corticosterone