Rambutan Peel Extract (Nephelium lappaceum L.) Improves Sperm Morphology, Viability, Motility in High-Fat-Diet Obese Rats

Obesity in men reduces sperm quality through hormonal imbalance and increased oxidative stress due to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). This study aimed to determine the effect of rambutan peel extract (Nephelium lappaceum L.) on sperm quality in terms of morphology, viability, and motility in obese male rats. This study used a quantitative experimental design with 25 male Sprague-Dawley rats wich were divided into five groups: normal (K−); obese (K+); obese with ellagic acid (T1); obese with RPE 15 mg/kg BW (T2); and obese with RPE 30 mg/kg BW (T3), and obesitywas induced by a high-fat diet using coconut oil and 15% sucrose for seven weeks, and sperm parameters analyzed under a light microscope. Obesity reduced sperm morphology, viability, and motility. Administration of ellagic acid (T1) moderately improved sperm quality but had limited effects on morphology and motility, RPE 15 mg/kg BW (T2) significant and optimal improvement in morphology (94.2 ± 2.28%) and motility (56.0 ± 4.00%), and viability also higher (82.2 ± 5.06%) compared to the obesity group (p 0.05), and RPE 30 mg/kg BW (T3) showed a decrease in effect due to the hormesis. The results showed that RPE at a dose 15 mg/kg BW was the most effective in improving sperm quality in obese rats, suggesting its potential application for supporting male reproductive health under conditions of obesity.