A Unisex Contraceptive Made From Olives

A recent study found that lupeol, a nat­ural com­pound found in olives and other plants includ­ing mango, dan­de­lion root and aloe vera acts as a ​“mol­e­c­u­lar con­dom,” pre­vent­ing sperm from fer­til­iz­ing eggs. The report con­cluded that lupeol has the poten­tial to become a nat­ural con­tra­cep­tive that could be taken by women or men.

The olive-based con­tra­cep­tive which is harm­less to sperm and eggs could be com­mer­cially avail­able within two years for women to take before or after sex. Lupeol could be used as a per­ma­nent con­tra­cep­tive in the form of a skin patch or vagi­nal ring. It could also act as an emer­gency con­tra­cep­tive taken either before or after sex­ual inter­course. The male ver­sion of a con­tra­cep­tive made from lupeol is expected to be devel­oped within four years.

Lupeol works by pre­vent­ing sperm from hav­ing their final ​“power kick,” a whip-like action that occurs when a sperm approaches an egg. This move­ment pro­pels the sperm towards the egg and enables the sperm to pen­e­trate the pro­tec­tive cells sur­round­ing it.

Polina Lishko, co-author of the report told the Daily Mail, ​“It [lupeol] is not toxic to sperm cells — they still can move. But they can­not develop this pow­er­ful stroke, because this whole acti­va­tion path­way is shut down. This is a poten­tially safer morn­ing after pill, reg­u­lar Pill, and a future male con­tra­cep­tive. Essentially it is a future ver­sion of a uni­sex con­tra­cep­tive.”

The research team from the University of California dis­cov­ered that human sperm takes five to six hours to mature after they enter the female, which would give lupeol time to take effect as a nat­ural replace­ment for the morn­ing-after pill if taken within five hours of unpro­tected sex.

Incredibly low con­cen­tra­tions of lupeol are effec­tive in block­ing fer­til­iza­tion. This makes it an attrac­tive alter­na­tive to hor­monal based con­tra­cep­tives such as The Pill, which has been linked to an increased risk of can­cer, heart dis­ease, blood clots and depres­sion. Trials of a male pill have shown it to be effec­tive but users have reported side effects includ­ing acne, mus­cle pain and emo­tional prob­lems.

“If one can use a plant-derived, non-toxic, non-hor­monal com­pound in lesser con­cen­tra­tion to pre­vent fer­til­iza­tion in the first place, it could poten­tially be a bet­ter option.” Lishko told Laboratory Equipment.

Fertility expert Allan Pacey told the Daily Mail, ​“This is prob­a­bly one of the most inno­v­a­tive approaches to male con­tra­cep­tion, allow­ing men to take equal respon­si­bil­ity for fam­ily plan­ning that we have seen in a long time.”

He added, ​“Scientists have been tin­ker­ing with dif­fer­ent kinds of hor­monal con­tra­cep­tives for men for 30 years and they have not yet got them to the mar­ket­place, so we really need a new kind of approach like this.”

The research team explored nat­ural con­tra­cep­tives, derived from anti-fer­til­ity plants and used by indige­nous peo­ple. This led to the dis­cov­ery of lupeol, which is also found in grapes, man­goes, aloe and dan­de­lion root.

The sci­en­tists warned that eat­ing vast amounts of olives will not pre­vent unwanted preg­nancy.

• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America


• Daily Mail