Abstract

Objective: The percentage of infertility cases in this world is about 50%. The seahorse (Hippocampus spp.) is wide to traditional medicine. Several studies stated that seahorse has eth¬nopharmacological features, such as fertility, antioxidants, and antifatigue. The purpose of this study was to determine whether seahorse extract (SE) (Hippocampus comes L.) affects fertility and serum biochemistry in rats induced by depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA).
Materials and Methods: All animals were induced by 1.25 mg/kg BW DMPA. The animals were grouped into five groups: aquadest, CMC 1%, and SE doses of 150, 225, and 300 mg/kg BW. The rats were gavage every morning from week 7 until 18. At the end of our study, the semen from the vas deferens and blood from the heart were analyzed. We analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni’s post hoc tests (α 95%).
Results: The concentration of spermatozoa had a significant difference in dose of 150 mg/kg BW compared to other groups (p = 0.04). In contrast, motility (p = 0.012) and viability of spermatozoa (p = 0.007) were highly significant differences (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01) in dose 300 mg/kg BW. The testosterone levels have not significantly (p = 0.162; p > 0.05), but the tendency increased in dose 300 mg/kg BW (11.01%). Nevertheless, serum biochemistry was insignificant (p > 0.05) in all groups.
Conclusion: The SE ameliorates fertility and serum biochemistry in DMPA-induced rats.

Key words: DMPA; seahorse; serum biochemistry; spermatozoa; testosterone