Nigerian Herbal S*x Drive Boosters May Lead To Male Infertility -Study

Nigerians have gone herbal. Most products from toothpastes, bathing soap to beverage drinks and even medicines to boost libido have herbal versions. They are generally believed to be safe and are taken without caution. Indeed, Nigerians have thrown caution to the wind when it comes to natural medicine. But recent Nigerian and American studies differ. 

A prostective study that investigated the possible effects of Nigerian herbal remedies on semen quality involving 218 patients who attended the fertility unit of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State,showed that 83.97 per cent of the patients with history of herbal intake had abnormal seminal fluid analysis while only 16.03 per cent of subjects with no history of herbal intake had abnormal result.
The researchers from the Department of Medicine, Richmond University Medical Centre Staten Island, New York United States of America (USA); Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Toxicology Unit, University of Port Harcourt Rivers State; and Africa Education Initiative Research Group Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnewi concluded: “This gives a clue of the possibility of male infertility from Nigerian herbal remedies. The reproductive health damage from consumption of Nigerian herbal remedies should be identified with in depth risk assessment.”

The study titled “Semen Abnormality And Nigerian Herbal Remedies: A Preliminary Investigation” was published in The Internet Journal of Toxicology.

According to another recent report published in a recent issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, not only are many dietary supplements marketed for erectile dysfunction and other male sexual problems ineffective, they may not even be ‘natural.’

In fact, a number of these supplements are adulterated with the very prescription drugs they claim to replace, The editorial by Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, United States, sheds light on this growing concern. Cohen cited several alarming incidents in which over-the-counter sexual enhancement supplements were found to contain other substances.

For example, one study in Singapore found that 77 per cent of so-called natural sex supplements on the market contained undeclared pharmaceutical drugs, often in higher-than-recommended doses.

And in 2012, a supplement called Rock Hard for Men was found to contain both counterfeit Cialis and glyburide, a diabetes drug. A similar combination found in other sex supplements has been tied to the deaths of more than a dozen men in Asia.

Even more disturbing, such supplements may contain analogues, or chemical variants, of prescription drugs like Viagra. Indeed, more than 45 new analogues have been identified in sexual supplements, according to Cohen.

One Dutch study found that about three-quarters of the products sold in the Netherlands contained at least one analogue, while the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently discovered three analogue drugs (as well as counterfeit Viagra) when it analysed a product called Mojo Nights. Other tainted supplements include those sold under the names Vicerex, Bullet Proof and Lightning ROD.

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Analogues are particularly troublesome, said Cohen, because they have never been tested in humans, so their potential side effects remain a mystery. “We do know, however, the risks associated with prescription medications such as Viagra and Cialis.

“These drugs, known as PDE-5 inhibitors, can cause side effects like headaches, nasal congestion and vision problems – and they can have dangerous interactions with the heart medication nitroglycerine. That doesn’t mean PDE-5 inhibitors are unsafe for everyone, but it does mean that they need to be prescribed and monitored by a doctor.

“Unfortunately, when one take a sexual enhancement supplement, you have no real way of knowing whether that product is adulterated with PDE-5 inhibitors or other drugs that could have harmful effects when used without supervision.

“It is my hope that by educating men, deaths from sexual enhancement products can be prevented in the United States,” Cohen said. He urged men with sexual dysfunction to avoid sexual health supplements altogether.

“If you really want to try something natural,” Cohen suggested asking the doctor about yohimbine, a prescription medication for erectile dysfunction that’s derived from yohimbe, a compound naturally found in the bark of a West African evergreen tree. It is important, however, that you take the prescription version and not the supplement yohimbe, which has been shown to contain varying amounts of the active ingredient.

While it is true that men may seek out natural remedies for sexual dysfunction because they believe they are safer and gentler than their conventional counterparts, it has been shown that some men may be using these supplements as way to avoid discussing sexual issues with their physicians or because they are too embarrassed to fill the prescription at their local pharmacy.

To address such concerns, Pfizer has started selling Viagra online. Although men still need a valid prescription for the drug, they will be able to order the medication on the Internet and have it sent directly to their home.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, a 2011 survey by Pfizer found that 80 per cent of pills sold online as “Viagra” were counterfeit drugs that only contained about 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the active ingredient sildenafil. Worse, some were contaminated with pesticides, paint and printer ink. By selling real Viagra online, Pfizer hopes to guide men to the legitimate drug.

This is one way to help guys feel less embarrassed about sexual dysfunction. It is also recommended that men and their partners get comfortable having open, candid conversations about sex. “You might feel nervous at first, but learning to communicate honestly with your partner about your sex life can make it easier to discuss sexual health with your doctor – and it’s the most natural approach of all.”

Meanwhile, the use of homeopathic and herbal medicines has increased in recent years. This has probably arisen as a result of a number of factors including disillusionment with conventional drugs, growing confidence in complementary medicine, and a belief that the products are safe, often on the grounds that ‘natural’ equates to safe.

A review of literature has shown a range of favourable and unfavourable effects for a range of natural substances. Patients often turn to complementary medicines, including homeopathic and herbal remedies, for chronic and inflammatory conditions, and those refractory to the beneficial effects of conventional products.

In Nigeria socio-economic deprivation, poverty and ignorance have led to trust and reliance on traditional herbal preparations for health reason.

According to The Internet Journal of Toxicology study, the use of herbal products are not regulated in Nigeria and in many low income countries and are freely available to everyone. “Cases of organ (kidney, liver, heart, testis, etc) failure after prolonged intake of herbal preparations have been anecdotally reported in Nigeria and other African countries. An increasing number of cases remain undocumented due to poor record keeping in the developing world.

“...In our work, we found 60.09 per cent cases of primary infertility.  We alsofound 60.09 per cent cases of primary infertility amongst the patients on Nigerian herbal remedies. NHR like B-success, Operation Sweep, and Rinbacin that were recommended for management of male infertility have been found to have deleterious effects on the testis of male albino rats. Orisakwe et al 2004 demonstrated that consumption of Hibiscus Sabdarifa HS calyx extract a popular local red wine in Nigeria by growing rats reduced sperm counts and spermatogenesis with evidence of marked degenerative histological changes.

“It is feared that the uninformed local population must have been involved in the sterilisation of their males by the habitual consumption of a local beverage of HS calyx extract. If HS is consumed throughout gestation and neonatal life, male reproductive function might be impaired by disruption of the development of sex organs because the male reproductive system may be particularly vulnerable to toxic insult during gestation as has been observed with other substances.

“In a study performed to evaluate the effect of some these widely used herbs on sperm DNA, high concentrations of St. John’s Wort, Gingko bibola and Echinacea purpura were found to damage the reproductive cells and were even mutagenic to sperm cells. Commonly used herbal remedies can interfere with sperm motility. Many should be avoided by couples experiencing fertility problems.

“Uneducated traders and artisans showed more patronage of NHR than the educated civil servants. Education perhaps rather than economic wellbeing may have contributed to choice of NHR.

“Enlightenment and awareness creation may be useful in checking the untoward effect of complimentary alternative medicine in Nigeria in an addition to regulation. Since majority of Nigerians both in rural and urban areas consume these remedies, the Nigerian public should be alerted on the inherent danger in consuming some of these herbal remedies. The reproductive health damage from consumption of Nigerian herbal remedies should be identified with in depth risk assessment.”

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