Bioassay of male albino rats treated with cocoa ( Theobroma cacao Linn )

Introduction The need to broaden raw material base of agro-allied industries coupled with the paradigm shift from the use of synthetic drugs in medications have led to the search for food/cash crops that will be multifaceted in their derivable benefits (Ikpeme et al., 2012a). This according to Ikpeme et al. (2012b) will undoubtedly offer great array of opportunities for the sustainability of cultivation and productivity of the crops. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao Linn) which belongs to the family of Sterculiaceae is grown throughout the tropics (Coe, 2000) has been a major cash crop that has immensely contributed to the foreign earnings of Nigeria economy. West Africa produces more than two-third of the World's cocoa with Cote d'Ivorie and Ghana alone accounting for 40 and 20% of the World production, respectively (Anon 2005). According to Dillinger et al. (2000) medicinal uses of cocoa had been traced from Mexican sources and approximately 150 uses of cocoa for medical treatment had been documented. Cocoa contains various bioactive compounds, which includes polyphenols, peptides, minerals and methylxanthines (caffeine, theobromine and theophylline). Cocoa bean and its products are food sources rich in phenolic compounds. Dreosti (2000) reported that 60% of the total phenolics in raw cocoa beans are flavonol monomers (epicatechin and catechin) and procyanidin oligomers (dimer to decamer). Studies had demonstrated that the consumption of cocoa or chocolate reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease (Keen et al. 2001). Interestingly, there are lots of reports that have x-rayed the therapeutic relevance of cocoa and its products even using human subjects (Baba et al., 2000; Rein et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2000; Ying et al., 2001; Zhu et al., 2002; Muthur et al., 2002; Murphy et al., 2003; Mursu et al., 2004; Osakabe et al., 2004; Heiss et al., 2005; Taubert et al., 2007; Cooper et al., 2008). This notwithstanding, there are still fears that cocoa might elicit negative effects on the physiological and biochemical processes of an organism’s system (Abrokwah et al., 2009). This is predicated upon the following: (a) cocoa contains diverse bioactive compounds whose synergism might be detrimental to animal health (Greer et al., 2001; Rios et al., 2003); (b) cocoa processing methods differ and this obviously might influence the level of bioactive components therein (Wollgast and Anklam, 2000; Kyi et al., 2005; Caligiani et al., 2007; Abbe and Amin, 2008) and (c) cocoa from different origin and varieties contains different bioactive constituents, which might elicit diverse pharmacological actions (Caligiani et al., 2007; Azizah et al., 2007). Going by this understanding therefore it becomes imperative to assess the effect of unfermented sun-dried cocoa on male albino rats as regards sperm quality, blood, hormonal and biochemical parameters. This will immensely help in creating awareness, especially to the local cocoa farmers who consume it, the form notwithstanding. Materials and Method Preparation of test material Matured and ripe cocoa pods (Amelonado) were collected from an old cocoa plantation belonging to Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan (714 N, 351E), courtesy of Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion. The pods were broken with wooden stick and the beans were wrapped with polyethylene nets and inserted into a heap of cocoa beans to be fermented for six days. This was done so that enough heat will be provided for the experimental beans. At the end of the fermentation period, the tied polyethylenes net with its content were brought out of the