Objective: To examine the determinants of emergency contraceptive pill use in Bangladesh. Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study came from 2017-2018 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Characteristics of 906 reproductive age women who were potential candidates for using emergency contraceptive pill were analysed in this study. Data were analysed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Stepwise binary logistic regression was employed as multivariate analysis. Results: Only 10.9% candidates were found to ever use emergency contraceptive pill. The odds of using emergency contraceptive pill for women visited by family planning field worker was significantly higher than that for those who were not visited by family planning field worker [odds ratio (OR) 1.94; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19–3.17; P=0.008], while the odds of using emergency contraceptive pill for women with high socioeconomic status was higher than that for those with low socioeconomic status (OR 3.10; 95% CI 1.61–5.97; P=0.001). Additionally, having some media access was linked to an increase in the odds of using emergency contraceptive pill (OR 3.01; 95% CI 1.33–6.83; P=0.008). Women empowerment related factors did not show any significant effect on emergency contraceptive pill use. Conclusions: The findings indicate that family planning programme has a great opportunity of playing an important role in increasing emergency contraceptive pill use in Bangladesh by increasing the knowledge and awareness of women about emergency contraceptive pill.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been detected in the blood, urine, facial/anal swabs, semen, and vaginal discharge; all have been shown to contain SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Recent findings have highlighted the prospect of SARS-CoV-2 invading the genital system in addition to other tissues, which might give rise to reproductive concerns. This investigation sheds light on male reproductive tract vulnerability to invasion by SARS-CoV-2 and provides a foundation for further researches into male fertility. Males are infected with COVID-19 at a higher rate than females. As a result, some data suggest that this viral infection might affect the male reproductive system. The probable causes for male genital tract abnormalities in COVID- 19 are: 1) high expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in the testes; 2) SARS-CoV-2 infection indirectly induces immune response in the testes; 3) SARS-CoV-2 directly damages male genital cells by virus-receptor binding activity; 4) fever in SARS-CoV-2 infected males may cause damages to testicular cells; 5) testosterone level decreased in SAR-CoV-2 infected males; 6) males are more susceptible to COVID-19 than females, which may be due to differences in the physiology of the genital tract. This review seeks to offer some insights into the potential causes of COVID-19 that affect the male reproductive system, as well as future prospect on this issue.

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Objective: To summarize medicinal plants used in the treatment of couple fertility disorders. Methods: An ethnopharmacological survey was conducted with 30 traditional healers from some localities of Skikda region in eastern Algeria. A standard questionnaire was used in the interview which focused mainly: the treated fertility disorders, the used medicinal plants species, parts used, and preparation methods. The relative frequency of citation and percentages of infertility troubles were calculated and analyzed. Results: The most important treated disorders in men were dysfunction of libido (44.22%), low sperm concentration and motility (25.33%), low semen volume (17.67%) and prostate disorders (5.66%). Women were treated mainly for menstruation disorders (35.32%), breast problems (29.53%) and sexual asthenia (25.82%). The survey identified 28 plant species belonging to 15 families, used by different ethnic groups, particularly women (58.00%), to address different fertility disorders. Three plant families were largely used viz Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, and Apiaceae. In term of relative frequency citation, ten dominated plant species were: Zingiber officinalis L. (0.96), Nigella sativa L. (0.83), Lepidium sativum L. (0.80), Capsicum annuum L. (0.60), Cuminum cyminum L. (0.56), Origanum vulgare L. (0.55), Allium sativum L. (0.50), Petroselinum sativum L. (0.43), Salvia officinalis L. (0.42), and Foeniculum vulgare L. (0.40). A number of investigated plants were scientifically confirmed by phytochemical and pharmacological studies to have one or more significant effects on couple fertility. However, much controversy was found in literature concerning the efficacy of some cited plants. Conclusions: The study highlights the important use of medicinal plants in management of couple infertility in eastern Algeria. More experimental studies are recommended to confirm or to refute these traditional uses and to ascertain the safety of these medicinal plants to consumers.

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Objective: To assess and compare the relationship between spousal communication, fertility preference, and other factors with contraceptive use among married couples in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Ado- Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria between the 12th of August 2017 and the 15th of February 2018. A pre-tested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 976 respondents by a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analyzed (univariate, bivariate, and binary logistic regression analysis) using SPSS version 24.0. Factors that showed statistical significance (P<0.05) were included in a binary logistic regression to determine significant predictors of contraceptive use. Results: The proportion of respondents currently using contraceptives was 56.9%. The education status of the respondents revealed that those with primary education were more likely to use contraceptives than those without formal education [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 8.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.97-36.2, P<0.001]. Respondents with fair spousal communication were more likely to use contraceptive than those with poor communication (aOR 4.9, 95% CI 2.80-8.71, P<0.001). In addition, fertility preference of 4 or less children was found to be significantly associated with contraceptive use (aOR 3.0, 95% CI 1.67-5.50, P<0.001) compared to a preference of more than 4 children. Finally, the urban respondents were more likely to use contraceptives than those in the rural setting (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.16-2.41, P=0.047). Conclusions: Educational status, residential site, spousal communication, and fertility preference significantly influence the level of contraceptive use among married couples. Couples should endeavor to discuss more on issues bordering on their fertility preference and contraceptive issue. Government should formulate policies to improve the rural uptake of contraceptives using identified target interventions.

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Objective: To evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of Phyllanthus (P.) amarus crude ethanol leaf extract and its effects on semen quality in male BALB/c mice. Methods: A total of 36 adult mice were divided into six groups, with 6 mice each. Five groups were infected with Plasmodium (P.) berghei, and one group was left uninfeceted. Of the five infected groups, one group was left untreated, three groups were treated with varying doses (100, 250 and 400 mg/kg) of P. amarus crude ethanol leaf extract orally for 4 days, and another group was treated with standard drug, artemether and lumefantrine (Lonart^®DS). Antiplasmodial activity, seminal quality, some biochemical indices (neutral α -glucosidase, fructose, and citric acid) in seminal plasma and seminal antioxidant markers (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, reduced glutathione, malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, and acid phosphates) were determined. The mice were euthanized 3 days post treatment and semen was collected from the caudal epididymis and processed for analysis using documented methods and procedures. Results: Malarial infection led to oxidative stress, causing a significant decline in seminal quality (P<0.05). However, treatment with P. amarus crude ethanol leaf extract alleviated oxidative stress and significantly improved seminal quality. The improvement was dose-dependent and compared well with the standard drug, artemether and lumefantrine (Lonart^®DS) treatment. Conclusions: The ethanol leaf extracts of P. amarus alleviate male reproductive capacity during malaria infection in murine model by enhancing antioxidant activities.

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Objective: To investigate the effect of INRA82 extender on ram semen quality preserved in cooled and frozen conditions in comparison with Tris-based extenders and to select the suitable extender for ram semen preservation. Methods: Semen samples were collected and pooled from Awassi rams (n=5) and divided into three aliquots. Each aliquot was diluted with one of the following extenders: 1) Tris-citrate glucose, 2) Tris-citrate fructose, and 3) INRA-82. For liquid storage, diluted samples were kept at 5 °C for 72 h. Progressive motility was measured at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after cooling. Besides, viability, morphology, membrane, acrosome and DNA integrities were evaluated at 24 h post-cooling. For cryopreservation, diluted samples were cooled, equilibrated, loaded and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Thawed samples were evaluated in the same manner as cooled conditions. Results: Seminal characteristics were improved after cooling and thawing in samples diluted with INRA-82 compared to those diluted with Tris-citrate glucose or Tris-citrate fructose (P<0.05). Conclusions: Dilution of ram semen with INRA-82 improves semen parameters. Hence, INRA-82, as a stimulating diluent, can be successfully used to reserve viability and sustainability of cooled and cryopreserved ram semen.

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Objective: To evaluate antioxidant effects of Scrophularia (S.) striata ethanol extract, trehalose and cysteine added to diluents on cryopreserved goat epididymal sperms. Methods: Motility and standard motion parameters of sperm were assessed by using computer assisted sperm motility analysis system. Sperm viability was evaluated by eosin-nigrosin staining method. Hypo-osmotic swelling test was used to evaluate membrane health. Thiobarbituric acid testing was used to measure malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. To assess DNA fragmentation, sperm chromatin dispersion test was used. In Experiment 1, treatments consisting of basal Tris diluent supplemented with 25, 50 or 100 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract gave the best concentration to the freezing diluents. Experiment 2 was carried out to compare the best concentration of S. striata ethanol extract (50 μg/mL) resulting from the first experiment with 150 mM trehalose and/or 5 mM cysteine alone or in combination. Results: S. striata ethanol extract (50 μg/mL) significantly increased sperm viability, motility and progressive motility and at the same time decreased MDA concentration and DNA fragmentation compared to other treatments (P<0.05). In addition, all treatment groups resulted in viability, membrane health, total motility, progressive motility, curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity higher and MDA lower compared to the control group (P<0.05). Acrosome integrity was significantly higher in 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract combined with cysteine, trehalose, or cysteine+trehalose groups than those in the control, trehalose, cysteine, and 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract groups (P<0.05). Regarding DNA, extenders supplemented with 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract, 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract+trehalose, and 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract+trehalose+cysteine were superior to other treatments. Conclusions: Adding 50 μg/mL of S. striata ethanol extract alone or in combination with trehalose and cysteine can improve the quality of cryopreserved epididymal sperms of goats.

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