A Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia (MOUAU), Abia, lecturer says her research on an Igbo soup seed, Uda, (Xylopia Aelthiopica) shows it can be an effective male contraceptive.
A Lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, MOUAU, Dr Oluchi Nwankodo disclosed this in an interview in Umuahia on Thursday.
She said that the fruit cuts the production of sperm if consumed.
She said that her curiosity to research on the seed stemmed from the fact that the Uda pepper soup served to women who gave birth in Igbo land was also served to their husbands.
“In Igbo land, I discovered that the Igbo people attach meanings to whatever they say or do.
“When an Igbo woman gives birth to a baby, they usually prepare a pepper soup with Uda for her.
“While the woman is taking the Uda pepper soup, the culture demands that the husband of the woman who gave birth should also be served the pepper soup.
“So, when I learnt about this, I went to research on the components of Uda and its effects on the human body,” she said.
Nwankodo said she designed a research process to find out the effect of Uda in men and women.
She said her research showed that Uda is a male contraceptive.
“When a male takes Uda, it will pause the spermatogenesis in that man for the period of time he takes it.
“But when he stops taking it, his fertility is restored again, so it is a good male contraceptive,” she said.
The don said she equally discovered that Uda makes a woman who was delivered of a child to be healthy.
“Women in other countries report a Post-partum Depression after giving birth for a period of six months, but this is not the case in Igbo land where the women take Uda soup after birth,” she added.
Nwankodo said her findings showed that Uda (Xylopia Aelthiopica) raises estrogen and progesterone levels after birth which does not allow Igbo women to experience PPD.
She, therefore, recommended the mass production of Uda seeds and its consumption by couples.
NAN
