£10 supplement might boost men’s sperm counts AND potency, research claims
Supplements retailing for as little as £10 may have the potential to help men struggling to become fathers.
A seed powder derived from a plant used by tribes in India and Africa as an antidote to snake bites was found to increase the sperm count of male rats.
Extracts of Mucuna pruriens, nicknamed the velvet bean or cowitch, also increased agility — their ability to swim efficiently, according to the same study.
While it hasn’t been proven to work in humans, researchers believe it could hold promise.
The findings mimic human studies that suggested the supplement boosts fertility, they said.
Mucuna pruriens, nicknamed the velvet bean or carriage, thrives in Africa, India and the Caribbean and causes extreme irritation if it comes in contact with the skin
Researchers at the University of Ghana found that the powder can also “significantly increase” sperm count and motility. When testing the effect of the powder on 28 male Sprague-Dawley rats, they were split into four groups of seven. One received a ‘low dose’ of 500 mg per kg, another received a ‘medium dose’ of 1000 mg per kg. A third received a ‘high dose’ of 2000 mg/kg, a final control group received distilled water. Pictured, a cross-sectional micrograph of the testis in rats after treatment with the 90-day doses
Mucuna pruriens thrives in Africa, India and the Caribbean, but causes extreme irritation when it comes into contact with the skin.
But not the powdered form of the seed. Versions are available online from retailers including Amazon and eBay.
Wellness groups and advocates say it can improve mood, relieve stress and boost energy levels.
Some also use it in the belief that it can help couples conceive.
Experts at the University of Ghana tested the effect of the powder on 28 rats, which were split into four groups of seven.
A powdered form of the seed — available online from retailers including Amazon and Ebay — has been used for years by wellness groups to elevate mood, relieve stress and boost energy levels
One received a ‘low dose’ of 500 mg per kg, another received a ‘medium dose’ of 1,000 mg/kg and the third received a ‘high dose’ of 2,000 mg/kg.
The other group received only water as a control.
The seeds were dried in the sun for three days and roasted to break up their hard coat before being ground into a fine powder.
Scientists followed the rodents for three months before ingesting them blood samples and removing their testes, prostate and seminal vesicles — glands that produce the fluids that will turn into semen — for testing.
Samples from the caudal epidiymis – the tube in the scrotum containing semen – were also collected for laboratory analysis.
The findings, published in the journal Phytomedicine Plusshow that the sperm count of the rats ‘increased significantly’ between the control group and the medium dose group.
Similar levels were recorded in the control group and those taking low and high doses. However, sperm counts in rats at the medium dose were about a third higher.
Sperm count in humans is measured in millions per ml and a normal range can be anywhere from 15 to 200 million.
But it’s unclear how it was measured in this study.
Sperm motility — how efficiently sperm moves — also increased “significantly” in all groups, scientists said.
The highest percentage was re-recorded in the medium dose group (0.57), almost double that of the control group (0.36).
Low and high doses also reported rates of 0.5 and 0.56, respectively.
Sperm motility is usually recorded as the percentage of sperm moving in a single ejaculate. It is unclear how the percentage was measured in this study.
The rats showed normal growth weight throughout the 90-day study, with no blood or tissue abnormalities, while “sexual behavior” improved, the team said.
Rats given the highest dose recorded the strongest testosterone levels, a third higher than the control group.
Similar findings were recorded in a 2012 Indian study which showed that mucuna pruriens ‘significantly improved’ sperm count and sperm motility in diabetic rats.
In 1973, the average sperm count was about 104 million per milliliter. But by 2019, this had fallen to 49 million – a halving in less than 50 years.
More and more men are now falling below the fertility threshold of 15 million sperm cells per milliliter.
Many cases of abnormal sperm are unexplained.
But experts say poor nutrition, a lack of exercise and behaviors like smoking or high-sugar diets may be to blame.
Low testosterone, one of the physiological causes of low sperm count, increases the risk of chronic diseases, while testicular cancer can also lead to a decrease in sperm count.
A comprehensive review of evidence in 2017, based on 7,500 studies, shows sperm counts among Western men have more than halved over the past 40 years.
According to a 2016 study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, around one in ten men of all ages in the UK suffer from infertility – an unsuccessful attempt at pregnancy for a year or more.
Other studies indicate that as many as one in five men under 35 have low sperm counts.