Effects of Heinsia crinita and Ficus capensis Hydroethanolic Extracts on Reproductive Parameters in Wistar Rats Subjected to PI3K/AKT Inhibition

Abstract

Reproductive dysfunction remains a major health concern, and male infertility contributes substantially to infertility among couples. This study evaluated the protective and modulatory effects of hydroethanolic extracts of Heinsia crinita roots and Ficus capensis bark on reproductive and biochemical parameters in male Wistar rats subjected to PI3K/AKT signalling inhibition. Reproductive dysfunction was induced using Sylibon 140 (silibinin), a pharmacological agent associated with down-regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Wistar rats aged 8-12 weeks were treated for 14 days with H. crinita extract at 60 and 120 mg/kg, F. capensis extract at 35 and 75 mg/kg, or combined extract mixtures at 60 and 120 mg/kg. Body weight was monitored during treatment, and blood, reproductive organs, and epididymal samples were collected for hormonal, biochemical, organ-weight, and spermogram analyses. The combined low-dose extract improved endocrine indices by increasing testosterone and restoring luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels towards baseline. F. capensis monotherapy showed dose-dependent improvement in sperm density, with the higher dose restoring sperm density close to the normal control value. Lipid and protein indices remained generally stable, although HDL-C and total protein showed treatment-specific variation. These findings suggest that H. crinita and F. capensis extracts may modulate reproductive parameters under PI3K/AKT inhibition, but direct molecular and histopathological confirmation is required.