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ABSTRACT
Phoenix dactilyfera is a plant found mainly in North Africa and Middle East. It has been reported to contain high concentration of natural antioxidants that could scavenge free radicals. On the other hand, quinine is a prescription drug used in the management of malaria. This study was designed to access the effect of Phoenix dactilyfera extract on quinine-induced testicular and epididymal damage for 56 days. Thirty five adult male Wistar rats weighing between 150g to 205g were grouped into seven groups of five rats each. Groups A (control) were given mash feed and water daily ad libitum, Group B (B1 and B2) were treated with 20mg/kg body weight of quinine only via oral route daily. Group C (C1 and C2) were treated with 20mg/kg quinine and 50mg/kg of Date palm via oral route daily. Group D (D1 and D2) were treated with 50mg/kg of Date palm only via oral route daily. After the 56 day duration of treatment, withdrawal treatment was done for Groups B2, C2 and D2 for 30 days before sacrifice. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed under chloroform anaesthetesia and their testes and epididymides were excised, fixed in Bouin’s fluid and were processed for morphological changes. Sperm was taken from their caudal epididymides for sperm analysis. The result revealed that there was no significant difference in body weight and epididymal weight in the group that was treated with quinine only compared to control group. (P>0.05). There was significant difference in testicular weight (P<0.05) compared to control group. There was significant difference in the sperm parameters of groups treated with quinine only compared to the control group.
