Male oral contraceptive

A male oral contraceptive is not medically available to the public, although several forms are in various stages of research and development.

Botanical compounds

 * In 1980, a test was successfully performed on male rats using leaves from the neem tree.
 * In 1995, researchers isolated compounds from a Chinese plant called Tripterygium wilfordii.
 * In 2002, researchers fed extracts from the seeds of papaya fruits (Carica papaya) to monkeys. Subsequently, the monkeys had no sperm in their ejaculate.
 * In 2002, tests were performed on male rats using oleanolic acid, extracted from Eugenia jambolana, a tree in the southern part of Africa. The tests demonstrated that the chemical was found to reversibly lower the rats' sperm motility without affecting the sperm count.
 * Pills made from gossypol, a compound found in cotton seeds, have been abandoned as a potential male contraceptive because the compound was proven to cause permanent infertility.

Pharmaceutical tests

 * Calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine may cause reversible infertility by altering the lipid metabolism of sperm so that they are not able to fertilize an egg.

Research on sperm

 * Dr. George Witman has performed research on sperm tail proteins required for motility.


 * Dr. David Claphamhas performed research on sperm-specific ion exchange channels needed for hyperactivation.


 * Dr. Joseph Hall performed research on sperm head enzymes needed to recognize an egg.