HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF QUARRY DUST ON THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF ADULT ALBINO RATS

ABSTRACT

Quarry dust, a by-product of crushed stones in the mining industry has posed a lot of threat to the quarry workers, people living around the quarry mining activities and to environment at large. This study is therefore aimed at investigating the histopathological effect of quarry dust on the reproductive organs of adult albino rats.A total number of seventy (70) adult male and female albino rats were used for this study and were randomly divided into seven (7) groups of ten (10) rats in a compartment of males and females in each group. Group I served as the control, while rats in the groups II-VI were exposed to quarry dust for one month to six months respectively. At the end of each month, the rats were sacrificed by mild anaesthesia using chloroform inhalation, whole blood collected through cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis of testosterone and progesterone. Selected organs were harvested and fixed in appropriate fixatives after which they were processed for routine paraffin sections. Stained sections were examined and photomicrographs obtained with a digital camera. The biochemical result showed a decrease in the level of testosterone that is statistically significant (p<0.5) across the tested group when compared to the control. Histopathological result showed mildly thickened tubular membrane, moderate thickness of tubular membrane and severe thickness seminiferous tubular membrane as well as distortion in the tubular lumen and membrane.Also revealed were thickened leydig cells, mild edema and reduced spermatozoa and the cells of spermatogenic series in the lumen of seminiferous tubules of the testes while the ovarian tissues showed evidence of focal areas of degeneration and distorted oocyte.The findings from this study showed that quarry dust has a toxic effect to the seminiferous tubules of the testes and ovarian tissues.

The histopathological effect could be said to be dose dependent, as the duration of the exposure increased, the effects were seen to be progressive.