Spermicidal and antigonococcal effects of tannins from pomegranate rind

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the spermicidal, antigonococcal and antifertility efficiency of tannins in pomegranate rind (TPR). Spermicidal activity was assessed by a modified version of the Sander-Cramer test and World Health Organization (WHO) standard method. A chromatographic method was applied to screen the spermicidal and antigonococcal ingredients of TPR, and the antifertility effect was investigated using rabbits. Spermicidal effect of TPR was identified both in vitro and in rabbit. The minimum effective spermicidal concentration of TPR in vitro was 1.25 mg/ml. In antigonococcal process, TPR shows moderate performance. However, TPR terminated the origination of pregnancy significantly in rabbit. Key words: Spermicide, gonorrhoeae, tannins; pomegranate rind.