Rajasthan University professors claim to produce India's first male pill

A monkey which underwent treatment;(below) a monkey's normal sperms factory and (bottom) its destruction after drugsMonkeys are just a rung away from man on the ladder of creation, and it is fitting that they should have helpedhomo sapiensin his hunt for an effective male contraceptive.Two Rajasthan University professors, Dr V.P. Dixit, 45, and Dr B.C. Joshi, 48, claim to have produced what could be India's first male pill from a herb called Barberis Chitria, found in the high Garhwal altitudes. Barberis is used by the Garhwalis for the treatment of epilepsy and wounds, but Dixit and Joshi have extracted an alkaloid from it which they claim inhibits sperm formation temporarily. Taming the sperms has usually led to problems for men. Dixit explains: "Females easily adopt tubectomy and other forms of contraception. Males are psychologically scared of vasectomy and fear permanent sterility. There is little or no change in the behaviour of women whose ovaries have been removed, but a sterile monkey shuns female company and is subdued in his manner. He is rejected by other male monkeys." The oral pill for males will act as a temporary brake on virility, and the much cherished manhood will remain essentially intact.The alkaloid was first tested on rats. The furry creatures, local as well as white Albino,were fed the drug orally-dose: 3 mg per hundred gram body weight-and were then allowed to mate with females in heat. Significantly, the females did not conceive.Effective Dose: After this first success, it was the turn of the monkeys. Detailed studies were taken up of the black ('Presbitis') monkeys. For a period of 70 days, a dozen apes were administered one 250-mg capsule a day, concealed in a banana. Biopsies of the monkeys' tests revealed that they had temporarily become impotent. Otherwise, say the researchers, the monkeys behaved normally; clinical tests did not show any adverse effects on the blood chemistry. The loaded bananas did not affect the heart, liver, kidney and lungs either. The experimental monkeys convalesced for 150 to 200 days. Then more tests revealed that sperm formation had reverted to normal. The next step is to test the new discovery on humans. However, as Dixit says, "That is possible only in collaboration with a medical doctor, after obtaining clearance from the drugs controller." The scientists seem to have the commercial aspect of their breakthrough well worked out. According to Dixit "a number of firms in India and abroad have shown interest". Another herb extract with the same contraceptive properties is Flavanoid, derived from the leaves of another high altitude herb called Colebrookia. The researchers ran it through similar tests, and found it to be equally potent. Now they propose to undertake similar studies for female contraception, and are trying to create a single drug that could be effective in both men and women. With the new pill, family planning in crowded India could receive a big boost. Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 25, 2013 10:08 IST--- ENDS ---

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Rajasthan University professors claim to produce India's first male pill

Monkeys are just a rung away from man on the ladder of creation, and it is fitting that they should have helped homo sapiens in his hunt for an effective male contraceptive.

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