INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA ON THE STOMACH OF ARSENIC TRIOXIDE

ABSTRACT

Damage to the stomach could be caused by exposure to toxic substances which could lead to impaired function of the organ resulting in critical health conditions or even death. Medicinal plants have always played a pivotal role as sources for drug lead compounds. early humans, driven by their instinct, taste, and experience, treated their illnesses by using plants; hence, the history of medicinal plants is as long as the history of humans. The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1997) estimates that 80% of some Asia and African countries presently use the herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. A wide variety of compounds that are used to perform important biological functions have been reported to be synthesized by plants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of aqueous extract of Moringa Oleifera on the Stomach of Arsenic Trioxide induced toxicity in adult Wistar rats. Thirty adult Wistar rats were randomized into Six groups (A-E) consisting of five rats each. Group A served as control while groups B, C, D, E, and F served as treatment groups. The rats were fed with grower mash feed (Premier Feed mills, Nigeria) and had free access to water throughout the entire study period. Group A which served as control was given feed and water alone, Group B was treated daily with 10mg/kg of Arsenic Trioxide alone, Group C was treated daily with 200mg/kg (low dose) of Moringa Oleifera and 10mg/kg of Arsenic Trioxide. Group D was treated daily with 400mg/kg (intermediate dose) of Moringa Oleifera and 10mg/kg of Arsenic Trioxide. Group E was treated with 800mg/kg (high dose) of Moringa Oleifera and 10mg/kg of Arsenic Trioxide. Group F was treated daily with 800mg/kg of Moringa Oleifera only. The administration was given via an orogastric tube and lasted for 28 days. All animals had free access to food and water throughout the experiment. At the end of the treatment regime, the rats were anaesthesized using chloroform and sacrificed. The stomachs xiv were harvested and weighed and immediately fixed in 10% formal-saline to avoid autolysis and was transported to the histopathology laboratory of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for tissue processing. The results from this study showed that there was no significant difference between initial and final body weight across the group (p>0.05) (A-F). There was also no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) across the groups in the organ weight when compared to control group (A), and also no significant difference in the organosomatic index across the groups. The Moringa Oleifera extract had ameliorative and protective effects on the gastric wall revealed by the histological results.