Fertility is one of the most sensitive issues, especially among married people. Many people try to have babies of their own, but sometimes it doesn’t seem to work at all. Looking back, the levels of infertility seem to be higher in this newer generation, than it was in the older folks. Nowadays, you see very young couples running around and taking remedies, trying to conceive. I have always been wondering what the cause maybe? Unfortunately, I haven’t taken my time to do much research in the subject area. However, I know that if you are reading this article, you may either be experiencing challenges in conceiving, or you have a family or friend with a similar problem. Well, if you want to know about guava leaves and fertility, then this article is for you. I took my time to analyse the authenticity of this claim.
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Guava leaves and fertility in men
So, I have tried to sift through the information available on guava leaves and fertility. And I tried to get any credible evidence that supports the fact that guava leaves can aid you in conceiving. Unfortunately, only a few studies were conducted pertaining to this issue. So, in this article, I will focus on the findings from these studies.
So, what do studies say about guava leaves and fertility?
I have come across several studies that highlight the importance of guava leaves in male fertility. These studies show that guava leaves contain some health promoting antioxidant compounds. These antioxidants can help you protect your body from oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a condition that results from oxidation processes in your body that arise from free radicals. Now, these free radicals arise from different metabolic processes in your body or from external harmful compounds like heavy metals, radiation or pesticides as well as immune processes. Free radicals are highly reactive and can damage any compound or tissue they come into contact with.
Guava leaves can protect sperm cells
One study that was conducted in Winstar rats showed that the ethanolic extracts of guava leaves were able to:
- Improve their sperm health
- Protect sperm cells from damage and toxicity
- Protect sperm cells from free radical induced oxidative damage
This study showed that guava leaves had the ability to protect sperm cells. Therefore, they may also protect human sperms, though the extent to which this protection works is unknown. This ability to improve male fertility is attributed to the high antioxidant content of guava leaves.
Guava leaves can enhance sperm output in rats
In another study, that was conducted in Winstar rats, guava leave extracts helped in enhancing the sperm outputs of rats. The study results suggested that guava leaves may possess beneficial effects on sperm production. They may also help in improving the overall quality of your sperm. Therefore, it’s very possible for it to improve sperm quality and production in humans.
Other uses of guava leaves
Guava leaves have been used for their medicinal properties by various groups around the world. This includes people residing in Africa, India, China and Latin America. The guava leaf remedies are either taken orally or applied to areas of treatment topically. Oral remedies are made by boiling the guava leaves in water for five minutes to create decoction brews. In several countries and communities that use folkloric medicines like ayuverda, Chinesa and unani tibb medicine they use guava leaves for various purposes like:
- Treating diarrhoea, rheumatism, diabetes mellitus and coughs in China, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
- Decoction used as mouth gargle for mouth ulcers in South East Asia.
- In Nigeria, they use the leaf decoctions as antibacterial remedies for oral care.
- In Brazil, the Philippines and Nigeria, guava leaves are used for skin and wound applications.
Pharmacological studies have shown that guava leaves can be used for various medicinal properties such as:
- Use as antiseptics- which means they limit the growth of harmful disease-causing organisms.
- Use as antispasmodics- which means they are used to relief spasms or involuntary contraction of muscles.
- Some use it as an astringent, which means that they can help to improve skin health.
- Used as diuretics, which means that they can help improve the urinary production system for the benefit of the body.
- Used for fighting inflammation
- Analgesics, which means that guava leaf extracts can act as pain relievers.
Conclusion
So, what can we say about guava leaves and fertility? For my analysis of the evidence, guava leaves may only be able to improve the fertility of men, as the two pieces of evidence says. However, it’s difficult to know the extent of these fertility benefits, since I didn’t find any human studies on this issue. Also, it is important to note that besides their benefits on fertility, guava leaves may also benefit other aspects of your health. If you do decide to use guava leaves for fertility, it is better to do it moderately to reduce the potential of incurring serious side effects.