Purpose: To investigate the effect of processed horse eye bean (Mucuna urens L.), a soup thickener on serum level of some sex hormones: testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone/interstitial cell stimulating hormone (LH/ICSH), estradiol and prolactin in male rats.
Methods: Twenty male albino rats of 12 weeks old with similar body weights were assigned to four groups of 6 rats each and treatment with processed horse eye bean at 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg body weight respectively daily for 8 weeks. Blood samples collected through cardiac puncture were assayed for levels of hormones.
Results: There were dose-dependent effects of the processed horse eye bean on the serum concentration of the hormones. The treatment significantly reduced the levels of testosterone and FSH in the serum while it significantly increased the levels of estradiol, LH/ICSH and prolactin.
Conclusions: Processed horse eye bean had strong capability to disrupt hormonal functions. Hence, its indiscriminate use as soup thickener could increase the risk of infertility in males.
