ABSTRACT
Traditional medicines used for treating numerous ailments in developed and developing countries, has been in existence for myriads of years. Bryophyllum pinnatum is a perennial herb growing widely and used in folkloric medicine in tropical America, tropical Africa, India, China, Australia and also native to Madagascar. It is used in the treatment of kidney stones and some other diseases. Bryophyllum leaves have antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aqueous Bryophyllum pinnatum leaf extract on the kidney of adult Wistar x rats. Thirty (30) adult Wistar male rats were randomly assigned into six groups: One control group (A) and five treatment groups (B, C, D, E and F) each containing five (5) rats. The rats in each group were fed with Growers’ mash(food) and water. In the control group (A), the rats were given food (Growers’ mash) and water only. Group B animals were administered with 100mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum, Group C animals were administered with 200mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum, Group D animals were given 400mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum, Group E animals were administered with 800mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum, Group F were administered with 1600mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract Bryophyllum pinnatum for twenty- eight(28) days. The animals were sacrificed afterwards and the kidney excised and taken for biochemical assay and histological analysis.Results from this study showed that Bryophyllum pinnatum had no significant (p>0.05) effect on body weight and organ weight. Also, the level of sodium ion concentration was significantly decreased in groups that received 100mg/Kg, 400mg/Kg, and 800mg/Kg of Bryophyllum pinnatum respectively when compared to the Control group while Potassium Ion concentration was significantly increased in the group that received 400mg/Kg BW. of Bryophyllum pinnatum. Creatinine and Urea levels showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) when compared across groups. Results from histology sections showed that there was active interstitial congestion and vasodilatation of veins and capillaries of the groups given 100mg/kg BW, 200mg/kg BW, 400mg/kg BW,800mg/kg BW of Bryophyllum pinnatum extract when compared to the control group. The overall results suggest that Bryophyllum pinnatum extract, under the conditions of this study, did not induce significant adverse effects on body composition, renal function, or kidney histology.
