Histological effects of chronic administration of Phyllanthus amarus on the superior colliculus of adult wistar rats

Effects of administration of Phyllanthus amarus commonly used for the treatment of jaundice, diarrhea, dysentery, urogenital disease and wound on the superior colliculus of adult wistar rats was carefully studied. Rats of both sexes (n = 24), with average weight of 200 g were randomly assigned into two treatments (A and B) and control (C) groups of 8 rats each. The rats in the treatment groups (A and B) received 400 and 800 mg of aqueous extract of P. amarus per kg body weight respectively through theorogastric tube administration daily for thirty days. The control group received equal volume of distilled water daily for thirty days through the same route. The rats were fed with growers marsh obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour mill Limited, Ewu, Edo State, Nigeria and given water liberally. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on the thirty-one days of the experiment. The superior colliculus was carefully dissected out and quickly fixed in 10% formal saline for histological study. The findingsindicate that rats in the treated groups (A and B) showed some cellular degenerative changes, hypertrophy, sparse cellular population and vacuolations in the stroma of the superior colliculus as compared to the control group. Chronic administration of P. amarus may therefore have an adverse effect on the visual and somatosensory motor sensibilities by affecting the microanatomy of the superior colliculus of adult wistar rats. It is recommended for further studies aimed at corroborating these observations

Morphological Effects of Chronic Administration of Zidovudine on the Visual Relay Centres of Adult Wistar Rats

The oxidative stress effects in chronic administration of Zidovudine (ZDV) on vision had also been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate how ZDV induced morphological changes in the tissues. The rats of both sexes (N=40), with an average weight of 200g were equally but simple randomly assigned into treatment and control groups. Each animal in the treatment group received approximately 0.857mg/200g of ZDV twice daily (on the basis of 300mg/70kg body weight dosage). The findings indicated that there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the weight of the treated superior colliculus and decrease in the weight of the treated lateral geniculate body as compared to their corresponding control group. The morphological changes were consistent with previous findings, which include cellular changes such as hypertrophy, unevenly distributed cellularpopulation, and vacuolations in the stroma of the treated tissues as compared to the control group. The toxic effects of ZDV on the morphology of the intracranial visual relay centres of the tested adult wistar rats observed in this experiment may underline some of the possible  neurological symptoms reported concerning ZDV treatments in human.Keywords: Zidovudine, Morphological effects, Superior Colliculus, Lateral Geniculate Body, Wistar Rat

Effects of chronic administration of efavirenz on the nissl substances on the intracranial visual relay centres of adult Wistar rats

The effects of chronic administration of efavirenz commonly used as part of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) type-1 therapy on the nissl substance of the intracranial visual relay centres namely the superior colliculus and lateral geniculate body of adult wistar rats were carefully studied. The rats of both sexes (n=20), with an average weight of 200g were randomly assigned into treatment (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. The rats in the treatment group received 600mg/70kg body weight of efavirenz dissolved in distilled water daily for 30 days through the orogastric tube. The control group received equal volume of distilled water daily for 30 days through the same route. The rats were fed with grower’s mash obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour Mill Limited, Ewu, Edo state, Nigeria and given water liberally. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation method on the thirty-first day of the experiment. The superior colliculus and lateral geniculate body were carefully dissected out and quickly fixed in 10% formal saline for histological study. The histological findings indicated that the treated sections of the superior colliculus and lateral geniculate body showed that the nissl substances were less intensely stained as compared to the control. The parenchyme was vacuolated, there were evidence of hypertrophy and more spaces between the axonal mesh around the sparsely distributed neurons as compared to the control group. The treated section of the superior colliculus showed neurons with faintly stained nissl substances of various sizes and with evidence of hypertrophy while that of the lateral geniculate body showed less intense and enlarge nissl substances with characterized microcytic changes. Chronic administration of efavirenz may have an adverse effect on the nissl substances of the superior colliculus and lateral geniculate body of adult wistar rats. It is recommended that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations be carried out.Keywords: Efavirenz, Nissl Substance, Superior Colliculus, Lateral Geniculate Body, Wistar Rat

Effects of chronic administration of aqueous alchornea cordifolia leaf on the kidney of adult wistar rats

Effects of chronic administration of aqueous extract of alchornea cordifolia leaf commonly used in the treatment of diarrhoea, cough, gonorrhoea, chest pain and anemia on the kidney of adult wistar rats was investigated. Rats of both sexes (n=20), with an average weight of 200g were randomly assigned into test (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. Rats in the test group were given the aqueous extract of alchornea cordifolia leaf at a single dose of 250mg/kg body weight daily for thirty days through the orogastric tube administration while the control group received equal volume of distilled water through the same route and for the same period. Rats were fed with grower’s mash obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour Mill Limited, Ewu, Edo state, Nigeria. Rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation method on the thirty-first day of the experiment and the kidney was carefully dissected out, dried, weighed, and quickly fixed in 10% formal saline for further routine histological study. Findings indicated that the kidney in the test group (group B) showed some level of distortion and disruption of the cytoarchitecture of the renal cortical structure with marked diffuse glomerulonephritis and an enlarged Bowman’s space as compared to the control group. Findings also indicated that there was a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in weights (g) of the test kidney as compared to the control group. Chronic administration of aqueous extract of alchornea cordifolia leaf may therefore have an adverse effect on the kidney of adult wistar rats. It is recommended that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations be carried out.Keywords: Morphology effects, Alchornea cordifolia, Kidney, Wistar rats

Histological effects of long term administration of piliostigma thonningii stem bark on the liver of adult Wistar rats

The histological effects of long term administration of piliostigma thonningii commonly used for the treatment of dysentery, fever, respiratory ailments, snake bites, hookworm and skin infections on the liver of adult wistar rats was carefully investigated. The rats of both sexes (N=21), with an average weight of 180g were randomly assigned into two test groups (n1 & n2=14) and control group (n3=7). Animals in the test group A received the extract of Piliostigma thonningii stem barks at a single dose of 200mg/kg body weight daily, animals in test group B received a single dose of 400mg/kg body weight daily for twenty eight days through the orogastric tube administration while the control animals received equal volume of distilled water through the same route and for the same period. The rats were fed with grower’s mash obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour Mill Limited, Ewu, Edo state, Nigeria. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on the twenty nine day of the experiment and the liver was carefully dissected out and quickly fixed in 10% formal saline for further routine histological study. The findings indicated that the liver in the test groups (groups A&B) showed some level of distortion and disruption of the cytoarchitecture with some marked congestion of blood mainly at the central vein of the liver. The presence of perivascular polymorph nuclei cells and congestion of blood in the sinusoidal space of the liver was also observed in the tested groups with that of group B more marked. Long term administration of extract of Piliostigma thonningii stem barks may therefore have an adverse effect on the liver of adult wistar rats.Keywords: Piliostigma thonningii, liver, Wistar rats

The Pattern of Sinus Arrhythmia at Different Inspiratory Volumes

Sixty healthy adult males were employed in the study of sinus arrhythmia at different inspiratory volumes (VL), to investigate the influence of age and the recovery patterns of the heart rate during the arrhythmia. The pattern of the arrhythmia was examined at six different depths of inspiration in the breath-holding state. The 60 subjects who took part in this study were made up of two age groups: 30 subjects were in the age bracket of 15-25 years, while 30 subjects were above 50 years. The resultsshow that increase in the depth of inspiration (i.e. increases in pulmonary stretch) modified the arrhythmia by increasing to magnitude. There were no patterns in the arrhythmia to suggest any influences due to age. However, the magnitude of the change in cardiac frequency appeared to bemore pronounced in the younger subjects. In addition the data from this research appears suggestive that heart rate recovers quicker in older people following its phenomenal fluctuations during inspiration. The response of the heart rate examined in expiatory breath-holding showed no discernible effects on the heart rate. While these observations appear to confirm earlier suggestion that the main link between respiration and sinus arrhythmia was probably the inspiratory phase of respiration, thepresent data also suggest that the pulmonary stretch receptors mechanism may be greater significance for the site of action in the neural feed-back mechanism that initiates the arrhythmia

Histological Studies Of The Effects Of Oral Administration Of Artesunate On The Lateral Geniculate Body Of Adult Wistar Rats

The histological effect of oral administration of artesunate commonly used for the treatment of Malaria on one of the visual relay centres namely the lateral geniculate body (LGB) of adult Wistar rat was carefully studied. The rats of both sexes (n=24), average weight of 210g were randomly assigned into three treatment (n=18) and control (n=6) groups. The rats in the treatment group ‘A’ received 4mg/kg body weight of artesunatebase dissolved in distilled water daily for 3 days, through orogastric tube. The animals in groups ‘B’ and ‘C’ received 4mg/kg body weight of artesunate base dissolved in distilled water for the first day and thereafter received 2mg/kg body weight daily for six and thirteen days through the same route respectively, while that of the control group D, received equal volume of distilled water daily during the period of the experiment. Therats were fed with growers’ mash obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour Mill Ltd, Ewu, Edo State, Nigeria and were given water liberally. The rats were sacrificed on day four, eight and fifteen of the experiment. The lateral geniculate body (LGB) was carefully dissected out and quickly fixed in 10% formal saline for histological studies. The histological findings after H&E method indicated that the treated section of the lateral geniculate body (LGB) showed some varying degree of reduced cellular population based on its sparse distribution, degenerative changes, cellular hypertrophy,and intercellular vacuolations appearing in the stroma. Varying dosage and long administration of artesunate may have some deleterious effectson the neurons of the intracranial visual relay centre and this may probably have some adverse effects on visual sensibilities by its deleterious effects on the cells of the lateral geniculate body (LGB) of adult Wistar rats. It is therefore recommended that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations be carried out.Key words: Artesunate, lateral geniculate body (LGB), decreased cellular population,cellular hypertrophy, vacuolations and Wistar rats

Effects of Halofantrine Hydrochloride (Halfan) on the Histology of the Ovary of Mature Female Wistar Rats

Halofantrine hydrochloride (halfan) was administered via oral route to matured female wistar rats weighing 180–200g. The wistar rats were randomly selected and divided into six groups of four rats each making a total of twenty four rats and coded A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3. Groups A3 and B3 were used as controls. Three consecutive doses of 1mg/100g halfan each were administered to group A1 at six hourly intervals while three doses of 2mg/100g halfan each were administered to group A2 at six hourly intervals. The animals were sacrificed on the 5th day after drug administration by cervical dislocation. Animals in groups B1 and B2 were given doses corresponding to A1 and A2 respectively, but in addition drug administration was repeated the fifth day following the day of first administration. The animals in this group were sacrificed on the tenth day by cervical dislocation, the ovaries were removed, blotted dry, fixed in 10% formal saline for histological processing and studies. Histological changes observed in the ovary include retarded growth of follicles, reduction in size and number of follicles, increase in cytoplasmic vacuolation, constriction of blood vessels, absence of corpora lutae and cases of cellular necrosis. These alterations were more pronounced in those groups sacrificed on the tenth day. (Afr J Reprod Health 2003; 7[1]: 113–120) Résumé Effets du chlorhydrate halofantrine (halfan) sur l\'histologie de l\'ovaire des rats de wistar femelles mûres.Le chlorhydrate halofantrine (halfan) a été administé par voie orale aux rats de wistar femelles mûres qui pesaient 180–200g. Les rats de wistar ont été selectionnés au hasard et divisés en six groupes, quatre rats dans un groupe. Il y avait au total vingt-quatre rats codés A1 A2 A3, B1 B2 et B3. Les groupes A3 et B2 servaient de groupes témoin. On a administré trios doses consécutives de 1mg/100g de halfan au groupe A toutes les six heures alors qu\'on a administré trios doses de 2mg/100g de halfan au groupe A2 toutes les six heures. Le cinquième jour après l\'administration, les animaux ont été sacrifiés par la luxation du rachi cervical. Les animaux des groupes B1 et B2 ont reçu les mêmes doses que ceux des groupes A1 et A2 respectivement, mais en plus, on a répété l\'administration des médicaments le cinquième jour après la première administration. Les animaux de ce groupe ont été sacrifiés le dixième jour par une luxation du rachis cervical; on a levé les ovaires, les a séchés et fixés dans 10% de solution salée pour contrôler le procès histologique et pour les étudier. Les modifications histologiques observées dans l\'ovaire comprenment le retard de croissance du follicule, la réduction dans la taille et dans le nombre des follicules, l\'augmentation de la vacuolisation cytoplasmique, la constriction des vaisseaux sanguins, l\'absence de copora lutae et des cas de nécroses cellulaires. Ces modifications étaient plus marquées chez les groupes qui ont été sacrifiés le dixième jour. (Rev Afr Santé Reprod 2003; 7[1]: 113–120) Key Words: Halofantrine hydrochloride, ovarian follicles, wistar rat

Effects to chronic administration of Efavirenz on the body and brain weights of adult wistar rats

The effects of chronic administration of Efavirenz commonly used as part of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) type-1 on the body and brain weights of adult wistar rats were carefully studied. The rats of both sexes (n=16), with the average weight of 200g were randomly assigned into treatment (n=8) and control (n=8) groups. The rats in the treatment group received 8.57mg/kg bogy weight of Efavirenz dissolved in distilled water daily for 30 days (thirty days) through the orogastric tube. The control group received equal volume of distilled water daily for 30 days through the same route. The rats were fed with grower's mash obtained from Edo Feeds and Flour Mill Limited, Ewu, Edo state, Nigeria and given water liberally. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation method on the thirty-first day of the experiment. The brains were carefully dissected out, dried and weighed using the Mettler Toledo weighing balance. The body weights were taken before and during the period of treatment using the weighing balance.The findings indicate that there was a steady increase in the body weight during the period of acclimatization and before the treatment. During treatment, the control animals continues to increase in body weight, while that of the treatment group showed decrease in body weight that was statistically significant (P< 0.05) when compared with the control group.There was also a significant decrease (P< 0.05) in the dry brain weight and a significant increase (P< 0.05) in the relative dry brain weight of the treated group as compared to the control group in this experiment

Histological Studies Of The Teratogenic Effects Of Camphor On The Developing Kidney Of The Wistar Rats

Background: Camphor is a common, white volatile, insoluble crystalline organic substance used in the manufacture of celluloid and explosives. It is also used in so many varied conditions as mixtures in medicinal compounds. In some communities in Nigeria camphor is used as a constituent of the local medicinal concoction called “agbo” which is believed to cure stomach disorders, malaria fever, skin rashes, eye problems and hemorrhoid. It is on this basis that this research is carried out.Aims: Since the Kidney is involved in the excretion of many toxic metabolic waste products it would be worthwhile to examine the teratogenic effects of camphor solution on the developing kidneys on adult Wistar rats. Methods: Both adult male and female Wistar rats (n=30) weighing between 150g -180g were randomly assigned into three (A, B & C) treatments (n=8) and control (D) (n=6) groups, with the cages of the treatment groups each containing a male rat. The rats in thetreatment group “A” received 0.001g in 1ml of camphor solution daily; those in group “B” received 0.002g in 1ml of camphor solution daily, while rats in group “C” received 0.003g in 1ml of camphor solution daily. They were fed with growers’ mash obtained from Ladokun Feeds, Ltd, Ibadan and the rats were given water liberally. The control rats received equal amount of the growers’ mash without the camphor solution. The rats weretreated during the first seven days of pregnancy. After parturition, the kidney sections were obtained from the pups or neonates and processed for routine histological investigation. Results: Histological changes observed in the kidney sections revealed  mild edema withglomerulonephritis, tubular lobulation and interstitial necrosis. This may suggest the direct cytotoxic action of camphor resulting from placenta transfer during pregnancy to the neonates. Conclusion: The result of this study highlights the possible abnormalities that could resultin a newborn when a pregnant animal is exposed to camphor in the seven days of gestation, and may suggest that the functions of the kidney could also have been affected due to the mild edema with glomerulonephritis, tubular lobulation and interstitial necrosis of the kidney. It is recommended that further studies aimed at corroborating theseobservations be carried out.Key words: Camphor, kidney, glomerulonephritis, tubular lobulation, interstitial necrosis and Wistar rats