Histomorphological Effect of Zidovudine on the Liver of Adult Male Wistar Rats (Rattus Novergicus).

Aim: This study accessed effect of dose dependent administration of Zidovudine (AZT) used as part of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for the management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on the liver of adult Wistar rats(Rattus Novergicus). Method:Twenty (20), adult male rat with an average weight of 150g were randomly assigned in to a control group(group 1) (n=5) and three (3) treatment groups (n=5).The control group received distilled water, while the treatment groups divided in to subnormal(group 2), normal (group 3) and excess (group 4) were administered 0.3mg/150g,1.3mg/150g and 2.3mg/150g of AZT respectively (in line with the recommended dose of 600mg/70kg) dissolved in distilled water daily for 30 days by oral compulsion. The rats were euthanized under chloroform vapour on the thirty-first day of the experiment and the liver was carefully harvested, fixed and processed for histological studies. Data generated was expressed as mean ± SDResult:Histological results revealed mild-chronic inflammatory effects on the liver as evidenced by vascular congestion, bile duct degeneration, infiltration of inflammatory cells and fibrosis of the liver, weight differences were not statistically significance in all groups. Conclusion: This research work revealed that Zidovudine showed no marked pathological effects on the liver histology, however liver function tests should be adopted in subsequent research to corroborate these findingsKeywords: Zidovudine, Liver, inflammation, fibrosi