Assessment of Liver Histomorphology and Curative Effect of Chloroform Extract of Telfairia Occidentalis Seed on Carbon Tetrachloride (CCL4) Induced Liver Toxicity in Wistar Rats | Insight Medical Publishing

Background: Telfairia occidentalis seed is a multipurpose plant with many attributes and considerable therapeutic potentials. Carbon Tetrachloride is one of the oldest and most widely used toxins for experimental induction of liver fibrosis in laboratory animals. The Liver is usually the organ to receive the effect of this chemical thereby causing hepatotoxicity, simply because of its method of metabolism, as well as carrying out the first pass effect by metabolizing endogenous and exogenous substances hence its consideration. Aim: The aim is to evaluate the histomorphologic anatomy of the liver with Telfaira occidentalis seed upon CCL4 induced toxicity in wistar rats. Methods: Telfairia occidentalis seeds were harvested and oven dried at the temperature of 400c for 4 days with an extract made from it using chloroform while the seed was immersed in a bowl of chloroform and stirred. The Lethal dose (L50) was made using the proposed new method and at 5000 mg/kg, no mortality occurred. In this experiment, a total of 20 adult wistar rats of 4 groups with 5 Rats in each group were used; Group 1 (Control group) received food and water ad libidum, Group 2 (Negative Control) received food, water ad libidum and CCL4 alongside Olive oil at the same volume of 0.5 ml, Group 3 received food, water ad libidum, CCL4 alongside olive oil at the same volume of 0.5 ml and 400 mg/kg of the extract, Group 4 received food, water ad libidum, CCL4 alongside olive oil at the same volume of 0.5 ml and 800 mg/kg of the extract which all lasted for 14 days. At the 15th day, the rats were sacrificed and histological slides were made. Results: The histological slides showed the rats in group 1 had their normal features; rats in group 2 had several abnormal features and rats in group 3 and 4 showed hepatocurative effect by bringing the liver gradually back to normal. Conclusion: At the end, it was shown that Telfairia occidentalis seed has constituents that can improve the status of an impaired liver.