For a very long time, family
planning methods have paid little attention to the needs of men, but instead
focused primarily on women.
The bulk of contraceptives
in the market today are women-oriented. Probably, many providers assume that
women have the greatest stake and interest as far as family planning is
concerned.
The consequences of this age
long neglect of developing acceptable and reliable male contraceptives in
developing countries has been lack of or less participation of males in family
planning.
As Africa is grappling with rapid population
growth, it is now recognised that giving attention to females only cannot solve
the problem.
But recent research efforts have demonstrated
the usefulness of many plant products as a natural birth control method for men
and this includes:
Pawpaw seeds
Pawpaw seeds have some potential natural
methods of birth control without side effects in men. In fact, its seeds have
been used by men in the Asian continent as a long-term natural birth control
method. The equivalent of around a teaspoon is recommended to be taken daily
for around three months to be fully effective.
Two interesting studies on the contraceptive
effects pawpaw seeds have shed more light on their potential. The first is a
study of the long-term safety of a pawpaw seed extract on male rats over a full
year of daily doses.
In this research, while sperm became
completely ineffective during the treatment, no decrease in testosterone or
damage to internal organs was observed compared to the control animals.
The researchers said the pawpaw seed extract
‘affect sperm parameters without adverse side effects and is clinically safe as
a male contraceptive’.
In the second study, an extract of pawpaw
seeds, equivalent to 50 mg per kilogramme of body weight per day, was administered
for 360 days to adult male monkeys.
Testing found sperm concentration, motility
and viability notably decreased within 30 days and was significantly impaired
by 60. After 90 days azoospermia (no sperm count) was observed in all the test
subjects.
Neem
Neem has been reported to exert antifertility
effects in different animal models. In 1993, experts in the journal, Current
Science, said its leaf extract were reported to affect the structure and
function of the testis and spermatozoa in male rats.
Also, the Neem Foundation states: “Neem oil
based vaginal creams and suppositories are almost 100 per cent effective. When
tested against human sperm, neem extract at 1,000 mg was able to kill all sperm
in five minutes and required only 30 minutes at a lower, 250 mg level. It is
suggested that these creams and suppositories also prevent vaginal and sexually
transmitted diseases.”
One study demonstrated the effectiveness of
neem oil in creating temporary sterility. 20 married men of the Indian Army
consumed daily capsules of neem oil for an entire year.
After six weeks of taking the oil, the men
apparently became sterile. The effects of the herb were reversed several weeks
after the men ceased to ingest it.
Source:
http://tribuneonlineng.com/
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