The Effect of Methanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera Lam Roots on the Histology of Kidney and Liver of Guinea Pigs

Moringa oliefera lam has Horseradish tree, Drumstick tree and Ben oil tree, as its English names. Principal Constituents of the roots include an active anti-biotic principle, pterygo-spermin, two alkaloids viz; moringine and Moringinine contained in the root bark. The aim of the study is to investigate effect(s) of methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera lam root on Histo-architechture of Liver and Kidney, considering objectives such as determining if the effect of the extract is dose and time-dependent, and determination of LD50. ’LD50 ip’ of 223.61 mg/kg was determined using modified Lorke’s (1983) method. Twenty four (24) guinea pigs were used for the study. They were acclimatized and randomly distributed into groups A-C and control. They were given daily intra-peritoneal injection of methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera lam root was done for three (3) weeks. Doses of 3.6, 4.6 and 7.0 mg/kg were given to groups A, B and C respectively. Four pigs; one from each group were sacrificed on 8th, 15th and 22nd days. Tissues collected were immediately prepared histologically for haematoxylene and eosin stain. The photomicrographs were observed under the microscope with magnifications of X400 and X200. Histological sections of group A revealed that kidney sections did not differ from the control group, while liver sections had balloon degeneration. For guinea pigs in group B, histological sections of liver showed balloon degeneration, while kidney sections showed mild tubular damage with interstitial inflammations. For guinea pigs in group C, histological sections of liver had balloon degeneration with microvessicular steatosis and sections of kidney had infiltration of interstitium with inflammatory cells as well as tubular Lumina filled with amorphous eosinophilic materials. Histological sections of liver and kidney of guinea pigs after eight weeks of cessation of treatment did not show normal histo-architecture. Histological sections of all treated groups had ballooning degeneration of the liver, means that hepatotoxicity is not dose-dependent, but time-dependent. Concerning the kidneys, sections from group B showed mild tubular damage with tubular cast and interstitial inflammation while group C had infiltration of interstitium by inflammatory cells and amorphous eosinophilic materials In the Lumina of the tubules. Methanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera lam roots was found to distort the histo-architecture of both liver and kidneys of guinea pigs. All the reversal groups retained histo-architectural distortions.