title: Effect of amlodipine, a calcium channel antagonist, on gonadal steroid of male Wistar albino rats.
abstract: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of prolonged intake of calcium-channel blocker amlodipine, an antihypertensive drug on gonadal steroid hormone (testosterone) of male albino rats. Three different concentrations of amlodipine (0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally to three different groups (B, C, and D) of experimental male Wistar albino rats (n = 8) for six weeks. Group A rats were fed normal diet without amlodipine (n = 8) served as the control. The administration of amlodipine significantly reduced testosterone level in the following order, group A (0.22 ± 0.01) > B (0.18 ± 0.01) > C (0.14 ± 0.01) > D (0.10 ± 0.01). The reduction in testosterone levels corresponded with an increase in the concentration of amlodipine administered to male Wistar albino rats. The observation in this study reveals that long-term treatment of male Wistar rats with calcium-channel blocker and antihypertensive (amlodipine) produces a significant reduction in the level of testosterone a hormone associated with decreased ability of men to enjoy sex and to develop good quality erections. There is the need for a large scale study to investigate the potential effect of long-term antihypertensive therapy with amlodipine on sexual dysfunction in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Onwuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Kc Patrick-I
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Wuanyanwu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Nnodu
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Erhabor
keywords: amlodipine; antihypertensive drugs; antireproductive; calcium-channel blocker; gonadal steroid; low libido