Dracaena arborea extracts delay the pro-ejaculatory effect of dopamine and oxytocin in spinal male rats.
Dracaena arborea is a medicinal plant with ethnopharmacological aphrodisiac reputation. In the present study, the effect of an intravenous administration of aqueous and ethanolic extracts from the dried roots of this plant on the ejaculatory pattern of spinal cord-transected and urethane-anaesthetized rats was investigated. In addition, the effects of these extracts were also determined on dopamine and oxytocin-induced ejaculation. Systemic administration of aqueous and ethanolic extracts (5, 20, 60, 100 mg kg(-1)) of D. arborea did not activate fictive ejaculation, whereas dopamine (0.1 μM kg(-1)) and oxytocin (0.5 UI kg(-1)) provoked ejaculation evidenced by the rhythmic contractions of the bulbospongiosus muscles accompanied with penile erection and sometimes with expulsion of the seminal plugs. Pretreatment of spinal rats with D. arborea extracts dose-dependently blocked the pro-ejaculatory activity of dopamine and oxytocin. In conclusion, the present study shows that the bioactive substances present in the extracts of D. arborea inhibit the activity of the bulbospongiosus muscles through the blockade of dopaminergic and oxytocinergic receptors in rats.
Animal Physiology and Phytopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
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Watcho
Animal Physiology and Phytopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
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Modeste
Animal Physiology and Phytopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
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Albert
Laboratorio de Comportamiento Reproductivo, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico.
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Carro-Juarez
D000818:Animals; D001046:Aphrodisiacs / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031409:Dracaena / Q000737:chemistry*; D004542:Ejaculation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*
D001046:Aphrodisiacs; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010121:Oxytocin; D004298:Dopamine