Accessment of the Kidney in Ginger Treated Wistar Rats

Ginger, botanically known as Zingerber offinale is an underground stem or rhizome which is known to have originated from Asia and have been reported to have a number of medicinal properties which is used in the treatment of many ailments such as arthritis, painful menstrual periods, nausea etc. It is also used as a common specie in food and bakery industries. The effect of ethanolic extract of ginger on the kidney of male wistar rats was studied due to the availability and medicinal uses of ginger. Twenty five (25) adult Wistar rats weighing 125-200g were divided into five groups. Group A animals served as the control and were served with distilled water , B served as vehicle control groups and received olive oil.  The animals in groups C, D and E served as experimental groups, and received 100mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg body weight of the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale respectively. The animals received the extract for 14 days and were sacrificed 24 hours after the last administration and the kidney was routinely processed histologically. The study shows enlargement of Bowman’s space, disintegration of glomerular cells and dilation of the tubular lumen with shrinkage of tubular luminal cells when compared to the control group, which progressively increased as the duration of intake of Zinger officinlae increased. Therefore, Zingerber officinale should be used with caution because it may have deleterious effects on the liver cells at high doses. Keywords: Assessment, Ginger, Treatment, Kidney, Wistar ra

Extract of Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) on the Histology of the Spleen Using Adult Male Rats

Usage of botanical medicine is ancient and plant chemicals are still the backbone of our pharmacopoeia because more than 50% of drugs used in Western pharmacopoeia are isolated from herbs or derived from modification of chemicals first found in plants. Zingiber officinale is one of the most widely used herbs and food flavouring agent and commonly known as ginger. This study was done to evaluate the possible histological effect(s) of ethanolic extract of Zingiber offinale on the liver of adult male albino rats. Twenty five (25) adult wistar rats weighing between 125-200g were divided into five groups of five (5) rats each. Group C, D and E served as experimental groups while group A and B served as the control groups. Group C was administered a dose of 100mg/kg of the extract, group D was given oral dose of 250mg/kg of the extract while group E was given oral dose of 500mg/kg of Zingiber officinale extract. Administration of extract lasted for fourteen days at the end of which the animals were sacrificed using chloroform-inhalation method. The spleen was harvested as tissue samples from sacrificed animals for pathological examination using routine histological procedure and stained with the haematoxylin and eosin stains. Histological examinations of spleen showed that after treatment with low and medium doses (100, 250mg/kg) the ginger extract produced little damaging effects on the spleen histology, indicating moderate lymphoid hyperplasia in the splenic cells. But at higher dosage (500mg/kg), reactive lymphoid hyperplasia in the splenic cells was extensive. Therefore, Zingerber officinale should be used with caution because it may have harmful effects on the spleen cells at high doses. Keywords: Ginger, Histology, Ethanolic extract, Spleen, Wistar rat

Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Ginger on the Micro Anatomy of the Testis of Adult Wistar Rats

Ginger rhizome (Zingiber Officinale Rosco, family: Zingiberaceae) is used medicinally, it is known to have both nutritional and medicinal value. This study is to determine the effect of ethanolic extra of the rhizome of ginger on the microanatomy of the testis. Twenty five male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into control group and experimental group. The control group was further divided into two groups (A & B) with group A as normal control and group B as vehicle control. Group A took distilled water and feed and group B took distilled water, feed and 2mls of olive oil (as vehicle). The experimental group was divided into three groups (C, D & E) and received 100mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg daily according to their body weight for 14days in the 15th day the animals of all groups were sacrificed and the testes harvested and processed for histological observations. Histological sections of the experimental groups showed distortion of germinal and supporting cells, disintegration of matured sperm cells in the lumen, distortion of seminiferious tubules, widened interstitial spaces indicating shrinkage of tubules and destruction of leydig cells while sections of control groups showed normal histological architecture of the testes with all cells arranged orderly. There was significant damage to the testis in general.  Hence, the usage of ginger by the males should be moderate, as high consumption may have some side effects on male fertility. Keywords: Wistar rat, Ginger, Microanatomy, Testi