HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE LIVER OF WISTAR RATS TREATED WITH CRUDE AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF MANGIFERA INDICA STEM BACK

This study was designed to determine the effect of aqueous extract of Mangifera indica stem bark on the histology of the liver in animal models. Twenty Wistar rats weighing between 170-185g were used for this study. They were sub-divided into four groups: A, B, C and D (n=5 each). Group A served as control, while B, C, and D served as test groups. For 14 days, group A received normal feed (grower’s mash and water only, while groups B, C and D received oral doses of 0.25ml (25mg), 0.5ml (50mg) and 1ml (100mg) of aqueous extract of Mangifera indica stem bark respectively. At the end of the experiment, the animals were weighed and sacrificed to harvest the liver for tissue processing and microscopy using standard laboratory procedures. The results showed that liver sections in group A (control) and test group B, presented no remarkable histological changes, while mild to pronounced cytoarchitectural distortions were observed in the liver sections of groups C and D respectively; suggesting that at higher doses, Mangifera indica can be hepatotoxic