ABSTRACT
Sansevieria trifasciata commonly known as mother-in-law’s tongue an herbaceous, perennial plant and is in NASA’s list of air purifying plant, improving indoor air quality by passively absorbing toxins such as formaldehyde. It is not only known as an ornamental plant for decorative purposes, for studies have shown its antiallergic, anti-bacteria, and antiinflammatory. This study aims to study the effect of aqueous extract of S. trifasciata leaves in formaldehyde induced lung damage in adult Wistar rats. Thirty six (36) Wistar rats were randomly selected and equally divided into six groups (A,B,C,D,E,F) with each group containing a total of six rat. Group A acted as the control, Group B was exposed to forty percent formaldehyde only via inhalation, Group C was administered 900mg/kg bodyweight aqueous leaf extract of Sansevieria trifasciata only, Group D was administered 1800mg/kg bodyweight aqueous leaf extract of Sansevieria trifasciata only, Group E was administered 900mg/kg bodyweight aqueous leaf extract of Sansevieria trifasciata and exposed to forty percent formaldehyde, while Group F rats were given 1800mg/kg bodyweight aqueous leaf extract of Sansevieria trifasciata and exposed to forty percent formaldehyde. All administrations were given orally, through an orogastric tube. The experiment lasted for thirty days. At the end of the study period, the rats were weighed and sacrificed. Body weight changes and lung weight index were determined. Lung tissues were collected for assessment of haematological and histological studies. From our result there was a slight increase in body weight across the groups with the exception of the group exposed to formaldehyde that show little decrease in their final body weight though not significant. Hematological result revealed the group exposed to formaldehyde for 30 days show significant increase (P<0.05) of monocytes with a significant decrease of (P<0.05) mean corpuscular. However, Sansevieria trifasciata pretreated extract groups shows inhibition of increased monocytes caused by exposure to formaldeyde. H&E staining revealed that Sansevieria trifasciata pretreated extract groups shows ameliorative effect which is dose dependent. At 900mg/kg dose, it achieved a potent amelioration of pneumonia, vascular ulceration and bronchiolar damage while at 1800mg/kg dose, it achieved a fair amelioration of pneumonia, vascular ulceration and bronchiolar damage. These findings suggest that at low dose Sansevieria trifasciata exert potent ameliorative effect on formaldehyde induced lung damage, and as such, could be relevant in the management of formaldehyde induced lung injuries.
