Mimosa pudica Linn. extract improves aphrodisiac performance in diabetes-induced male Wister rats.

Male sexual dysfunction is considered one of the major consequences of diabetes mellitus. The medicinal plant, Mimosa pudica Linn. is believed to have numerous therapeutic effects, including anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, aphrodisiac, and a sexual behaviour-enhancing properties. In the present study, the significant effect of ethanolic extract of M. pudica L. to scavenge excessive free radicals and alleviate the deleterious effects of alloxan-induced diabetes on the male sexual system of rats was demonstrated. The rats treated with the M. pudica L. extract recovered their body weight, the weight of their reproductive organs, the characteristics of the sperm and the histocellular arrangement of the testes. In addition, significant levels of hormones (testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone) increased in both serum and testicular homogenates of male diabetic rats treated with M. pudica L. extract. Further, antioxidant enzymes, SOD, CAT, GSH, and GPx levels are increased, and oxidative stress markers MDA and ROS are reduced in both serum and testicular homogenates of M. pudica L. extract treated male rats. Furthermore, an in silico molecular docking study was performed to predict high potential compounds of M. pudica L. extract against the PDE5 receptor. Two bioactive compounds, namely 3-Dibenzofuranamine (-11.1 kcal × mol-1), Stigmasta-7,16-dien-3-ol (-10.4 kcal × mol-1) showed the highest binding affinities with PDE5 enzyme, much higher than the reference drug sildenafil (-9.9 kcal × mol-1). According to these findings, bioactive compounds rich in ethanolic extract of M. pudica L. have significant aphrodisiac performance in diabetic rats.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.