And something else posted by someone else:
Contraception. 2002 Apr;65(4):259-63. Related Articles, Links
Gossypol: a contraceptive for men.
Coutinho EM.
School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
humrepbahia@e-net.com
Gossypol is a polyphenol isolated from the seed, roots, and stem of the cotton plant (Gossypium sp.). The substance, a yellow pigment similar to flavonoids, is present in cottonseed oil. In the plant, it acts as a natural defensive agent against predators, provoking infertility in insects. In most animals, gossypol provokes infertility, and in man it causes spermatogenesis arrest at relatively low doses. Studies carried out in China, Africa, and Brazil have shown that the substance is well tolerated, causing no side effects that lead to discontinuation. The reported hypokalemia of early studies has not been confirmed in the latest trials. The only concern at present appears to be lack of reversibility in over 20% of subjects. Gossypol should be prescribed preferably to men who have completed their families or for those who would accept permanent infertility after a few years of use.
1: IRCS J Med Sci. 1980 Jun;8(6):375-6. Related Articles, Links
Studies on the male antifertility agent gossypol acetic acid: in vitro studies on the effect of gossypol acetic acid on human spermatozoa.
Kalla NR, Vasudev M.
PIP: The hypothesis that gossypol (an active ingredient associated with cottonseed oil) affects enzymes and other constituents of spermatozoa, resulting in alterations in motility and sperm viability after in vitro treatment, was tested using human semen samples. At a gossypol acetic acid concentration (and a 30 minute incubation) of .01 mcg, the percent motility was 71+ or -2.5 (P .01); at .1 mcg concentration, percent motility was 69+ or -4 (P .01); at 1 mcg motility was 66+ or -5 (P .005); at 10 cg, motility was 38.5+ or -3.5 (P .001). Control values for sperm motility were 77+ or -3. These investigations suggested that treatment with gossypol depletes production of adenosine triphosphate in the sperms and thus their metabolism does not proceed normally, rendering them immotile. It appears that the high vulnerability of the testis to gossypol and the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in the respiratory chain of mitochondria of germ cells may be the mechanism responsible for infertility induction.
PMID: 12336803 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
: Fertil Steril. 1981 Nov;36(5):638-42. Related Articles, Links
Testosterone and gossypol effects on human sperm motility.
Ridley AJ, Blasco L.
Testosterone concentration in seminal fluid has been found to be high in infertile males (75 +/- 11 pg/100 microliter). Fertile males have a testosterone concentration of 29 +/- 3 pg/100 microliter. The effects of adding 50, 150, and 300 pg of testosterone to 100 microliter of ejaculate have been studied by turbidimetric analysis (Sokoloski J, et al. Fertil Steril 28:1337, 1977). This method permits objective measurements of sperm velocity and percentage of rapidly moving sperm in a sample (%RM). A dose-dependent effect of testosterone on sperm motility was seen. Fifty pg/100 microliter had no effect on velocity or percentage of moving sperm; 150 pg of testosterone produced a decrease of 36% +/- 8; and 300 pg/100 microliter, a decrease of 62% +/- 8. Caffeine had a stimulatory effect on the percentage of motile sperm at doses of 400 microliter of semen. Likewise, dibutyryl cAMP (10 microgram/microliter) had a positive effect on sperm velocity. The stimulatory effect of these two drugs were negated when 300 pg of testosterone was added to the preparations. Other steroids (17 alpha-testosterone, 17 alpha-estradiol, and 17 beta-estradiol, DHT, and progesterone) tested under the same experimental conditions had no effect on sperm motility, but cottonseed oil (goosypol) had drastic effects. Doses a little as 100 pg/100 microliter produced a 90% decrease in sperm motility.
PMID: 6273239 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]