Xylopia aethiopica commonly known as “African guinea pepper” or “Ethiopian pepper” is a popular pepper soup ingredient in Nigeria with several medicinal properties, but recently, its potential hazard to human health was observed. Sprague Dawley rats were fed with 25 mg Xylopia aethiopica for between 7 and 42 days, the animals were sacrificed and semen analysis was performed. When results were compared with the control rats, Xylopia aethiopica taken regularly progressively reduced sperm count and sperm motility. At the 42nd day of administration of Xylopia aethiopica, sperm count had reduced from 56 x 106/ml to about 6 x 106/ml, while motility reduced from 82% to about 35%. We conclude that prolonged intake of Xylopia aethiopica can lead to reduction in sperm count and reduction in motility which may lead to secondary infertility.
