Antifertility effect of Iranian neem seed alcoholic extract on epididymal sperm of mice

Background: about 90% of the world's contraceptive users are women. this gender-based usagehas occurred due to the emphasis of family planning programs and contraception research. condom,vasectomy and withdrawal are the only male contraception devices available with less assurance formen. for new male contraceptive to have an impact, they must be acceptable to both men andwomen, as well as effective. a hormonal method will likely come to the market within the next fewyears. it is necessary to use biologically active botanical substances or fertility-regulating agents ofplant origin which are ecofriendly.objectives: the epididymis is a site which can be exploited for male contraception without undueside effects. it was therefore of interest to investigate the effect of biologically active botanicalecofriendly plants such as azadirchta indica (neem) seed alcoholic extract as an efficient andcompetent male contraceptive on male mouse epididymis. materials and methods: in this experimental case control study sixty adult healthy mice dividedinto two groups of 40 as the control and 20 as the treated group. the treated group was administeredby iranian botanical azadirachta indica seed alcoholic extract, cultivated at dashteh moghan(ardabil province). the seeds was extracted with ethanol then administered first 50 mgikg bodyweight /day then 100 mgikg body weight/day orally for 15 days, following who guide lines (mb50).the target organ, epididymis parameters viz. sperm motility, sperm count fertility rate,scanning electron microscopic (sem) morphology of spermatozoa and atpase activity ofepididymis of the two groups were compared.results: the 50 mgikg body weight (bw)/day showed no significant change in epididymal spermmotility, as compare to the control. therefore the dose was changed to 100 mg/kg bw/day for 15days . the body and organ weights (epididymis) of the treated animals were not significantlychanged as compare to control group (p>0 .05). the treatment brought about a significant reductionin fertility rate when normal cycling female mice were mated with treated males (p<0.00 1). declinein atpase activity in caput and cauda epididymis was observed (p