Male Antifertility Effect of Ocimum sanctum Linn.: A Study in Albino Rat

Experiments were carried out to study the effect of high dose of "tulsi" (Ocimum sanctum Linn.) pellets on testis and epididymis in male albino rat. Wheat flour, oil and honey pellets of tulsi leaves were fed to albino rat, at 400mg/ 100g body weight per day, along with normal diet, for a period of 72 days. One group of tulsi-fed rats was left for recovery, after the last dose fed on day 72, up to day 120. This high dose of tulsi was found to cause duration-dependant decrease of testis weight and derangements in the histo-architecture of testis as well as epididymis. The diameter of seminiferous tubules decreased considerably, with corresponding increase in the interstitium. Spermatogenesis was arrested, accompanied by degeneration of seminiferous epithelial elements. Epididymal tubules regressed, and the luminal spermatozoa formed a coagulum. In the recovery group, testis and epididymis regained normal weights, where as spermatogenesis was partially restored. Thus, high dose of tulsi leaf affects testicular and epididymyal structure and function reversibly.