Table 2.

Some in vivo studies confirming the beneficial roles of watermleon and its extracts on fertility.

Animal used	Part used and form of extract	Route of administration	Dosage	Duration of Treatment	Actions	Ref
Wistar rats	Fruit; aqueous extract	Orally	100 and 200 mg/kg	30 days	•↑ FSH •↓ MDA and ↑ SOD levels •Improved histology of testicles	Daramola et al. (2018)
Wistar rats	Seed; crude powder and ethanolic extract	Orally	200 mg/kg	28 days	•↓ sperm morphological abnormalities •Numerous closely packed seminiferous tubules	(Akhuetie et al., 2018)
Wistar rats	Rind; Hydro- methanolic Extract	Orally	500 mg/kg	42 days	•↑ sperm count and reproductive hormone concentrations •↑ in SOD activity •↓ decreased MDA •level	(Kolawole et al., 2019)
Wistar rats	Rind; ethanolic extract	Orally	100, 200 and 400 mg/kg	52 days	•↑ the number of Sertoli and spermatogenic cells (at 200 and 400 mg/kg).	(Pratama et al., 2021)
albino rats	Seed; ethanolic extract	Orally	200 mg/kg	8 weeks	•↑ testicular weight •↑ Testosterone level •↑ Sperm motility •↑Gonadal sperm, and extragonadal sperm reserves	(Odo et al., 2021)

↑: increased; ↓: decreased; FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; SOD: superoxide dismutase; MDA: malondialdehyde.