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Annona muricata, is a species of the Annonaceae family that has been widely studied in the last decades due to its therapeutic potential. The aim of this research was to examine the morphology of the stomach of Albino rats administered A. muricata alcoholic seed extracts before and after potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) poisoning. The specific objective was to deduce whether the extract has ameliorative or protective functions against potassium dichromate poisoning in rats. Seeds were removed from the fruits, washed, sterilized with 70% ethanol and air-dried for two weeks and exhaustively pulverized by blending into uniform powder. The powder weighed 1.283kg. Exhaustive extraction was done with ethanol as extraction solvent. Twenty (20) in-bred wister rats of about 2-4 months old, weighing (130 -180g) was used for this experiment. Animals were grouped into five cages and named (Group I to V) while each group consists of 4 rats (n=4). Group I (positive control) received distilled water alone, Group II: treated with 200 mg/kg body weight (pbw) of extract once a week for two weeks, Group III (negative control) treated with 20mg/kg pbw of K2Cr2O7 once a week for 2weeks. Group IV (treated with a single dose of 20mg/kg pbw of K2Cr2O7 poison in the first week followed by 200 mg/kg pbwofextract daily in the second week and Group V (administered 200mg/kg pbw of extract once daily for one week followed by a single dose of 20mg/kg pbw K2Cr2O7 poison at the end of the same week and was repeated in the same manner in the second week. Prolonged sleep, dullness and reduced activities and weight losses were observed in Group III. Signs of dullness and reduced activities were observed in K2Cr2O7 treatment groups but more pronounced in group III. Stomach of K2Cr2O7 treated rats showed slight variation in consistency but no changes in colour while the mean weight was 5.1g. There was a noticeable difference of 0.8g decrease in the mean weight of rats in group III (negative control). Histopathology findings are in keeping with normal histology of organs examined and there were no evidence of necrosis or deleterious effect for sections from (Group I, II, IV and V). However, group III showed evidence of pathologic effects: disruption of surface epithelium mucosa, mucosal damages and leukocyte infiltration in sub mucosa and muscularis mucosa respectively. Conclusively, this study demonstrated that A. muricata seed extract ameliorates and protects the stomach of Albino rats against potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) poisoning and thus suggests a rationale for its potentiality against stomach poisoning in humans. However, molecular investigation may unravel the mechanism to which A. muricata seed extract exerts its protective and ameliorative effects against stomach poisoning.
