In vitro aphrodisiac potentials of some Nigerian herbal drinks

Background and Aim: Despite the widespread use of herbal aphrodisiac drinks in Nigeria, there is a dearth of information about their efficacy; hence, this study. This study investigates the inhibitory effects of selected aphrodisiac drinks on phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) and arginase enzymes from rat penile tissue.

Materials and Methods: Six male Wistar rats were sacrificed humanely, their penile tissues collected, washed, homogenized, and centrifuged. The supernatant served as the enzyme source for PDE-5 and arginase. Appropriate reaction mixtures were added to the supernatant to assay the phosphodiesterase-5 and arginase enzyme inhibition.

Results: All the thirty-one herbal aphrodisiac drinks screened possessed arginase and phosphodiesterase-5 enzyme inhibitory activities. For phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitory activity, the aphrodisiac drink with the nearest inhibitory activity to the standard (IC₅₀ = 0.090645) was Zazoozeh, with an IC₅₀ of 0.110275 mg/ml. For the arginase inhibitory assay, Ojapa showed the highest activity with an average IC₅₀ reading of 0.315191 mg/ml, which was the nearest to the standard (Sildenafil) which had an IC₅₀ reading of 0.182577 mg/ml. Following Ojapa was Zazoozeh (IC₅₀ = 0.448014 mg/ml).

Conclusion: All the tested aphrodisiac drinks possessed In vitro phosphodiesterase-5 and arginase enzymes inhibitory activities, and the Zazoozeh had the best activity vis-à-vis the two assays used.