Characterization of herbal bioactive for the development of spermicides for female contraception
The use of fertility-regulating plants as method of contraception continue to play a significant role in the prevention of unwanted pregnancies despite the popularity of modern contraceptives. Mutiat Bolanle Ibrahim of the University of Lagos, Nigeria and her team will identify and characterize the non-hormonal contraceptive activity of selected fertility-regulating plant extracts for the development into vaginal herbal contraceptive products with no irritations to the vagina and cervical mucosa. The team will screen crude plant extracts for sperm immobilization and sperm migration inhibition activity. They will carry out sperm function tests on plant extracts and evaluate the vaginal contraceptive activity of the extracts in female rabbits. The team willinvestigate the safety of contraceptive plant extract on cervical and vaginal mucosa epithelia via in vitro and in vivo models. They will identify the chemical constituents of the vaginal contraceptive plant extract that elicits the non-hormonal contraceptive effect.
