Effect of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart.ex. Reiss on spermatogenesis

The effect of the ethanolic extract of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart.ex. Reiss leaves on spermatogenesis was studied in Swiss mice by evaluating morphological characteristics by light and electron microscopy. The extract was administered at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally for 20 days, and at a dose of 800 mg/kg/day orally for 30 days. Structural analysis of the germ epithelium showed that treated animals were not noticeably different from control animals. The alterations included some exfoliated immature germ cells, occasional germ cell death (recognized as pyknotic nuclei) and a few vacuolized seminiferous tubules. Ultrastructurally, enlarged lipid droplets were found in Sertoli cells and swollen acrosomes occurred in early spermatids of animals treated with the higher dose. Sperm production indicated that the ethanolic extract of M. ilicifolia leaves did not contain substances sufficient to arrest spermatogenesis.