The Report on the Effect of White and Black Truffle Extracts on Rat Semen Parameters In vitro

Truffle extracts possess the unique properties that make them potentially valuable for medicinal purposes. The use of truffles in reproductive medicine may be of particular interest for developing medications with both spermatozoa-activating and contraceptive effects.

Our experiment evaluated the influence of extracts of white and black truffle mushrooms on rat spermatozoa.

Animal model.

The study utilized 28 samples of wild truffle fruiting bodies. In the experiment, we used ejaculate from male Wistar rats (n = 10, 8-12 months). Sperm samples from ten male rats were incubated at 37°C in a 96-well plate under the three conditions: control (methanol evaporated), concentrated truffle extract (25 µL), and diluted extract (1:6 ratio). After solvent evaporation, 150 µL of ejaculate was added to each well. Sixteen sperm parameters were measured using an automated analysis system after 1, 3, and 6 h of incubation.

The methods should be adequately detailed or referenced to other work. The statistical processing was performed in the Past software (V4.03) using the ANOVA analysis of variance with the Mann-Whitney test. Differences between the mean values of the parameters were considered statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05.

Research has shown that extracts from black and white truffles related to Tuber sp. have a stimulating effect on spermatozoa. Curvilinear velocity and beat cross-frequency also increased by 48% and 50%, respectively. Linearity showed a significant increase by 56% and straightness by 48%. This could be useful in the development of drugs to enhance sperm activity and lifespan. In addition, extracts from black truffles have been found to have a negative impact on spermatozoa, which could be relevant for developing new contraceptive drugs.

Our study demonstrated the influence of methanol extracts of Tuber sp. mushrooms on male gametes of rats in vitro.