The uncontrolled consumption of traditional herbal aphrodisiacs adulterated with pharmacologically active substances such as sildenafil represents a growing public health concern in regions where these products are widely used without medical supervision. This study aimed to evaluate the testicular toxicity induced by chronic oral exposure to two traditional aphrodisiac formulations adulterated with sildenafil in male Wistar rats. Male Wistar rats were orally administered distilled water (control), 5 mg/kg body weight (bw) of sildenafil citrate, or one of two sildenafil-adulterated aphrodisiac formulations named Attoté (AT) and Congnons-moussos (CM) at doses of 50 mg/kg bw, 100 mg/kg bw, and 200 mg/kg bw for 90 consecutive days. Testicular toxicity was assessed through measurements of hormones (testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH)), biochemical parameters (cholesterol, total protein, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx)), as well as histopathological examination of testicular tissue. Chronic exposure to the adulterated aphrodisiac formulations induced a dose-dependent reduction in relative testicular weight and serum testosterone levels, particularly in rats receiving the highest dose of CM. Significant elevations in FSH and LH concentrations were observed at higher doses, concomitant with marked oxidative stress characterized by increased MDA levels and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities. Histological analysis revealed severe degenerative alterations of the seminiferous tubules in groups treated with high doses. These findings demonstrate that chronic consumption of sildenafil-adulterated traditional aphrodisiacs induces significant testicular toxicity through endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, and structural degeneration of testicular tissue.
Ouedraogo et al. (Fri,) studied this question.