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Phytochemical screening
and histopathological effects of single acute dose
administration of Artemisia annua L. on testes and
ovaries of Wistar rats
P. O. Ajah1* and M. U. Eteng2
1Institute
of Oceanography, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
2Department
of Biochemistry, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
ajapaulo@yahoo.com.
Accepted 19 February, 2010 |
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Artemisia annua
L. is a medicinal plant whose derivatives are used in the
treatment of malaria. Phytochemical screening and
histopathological effects of single acute intraperitoneal
dose of the alcoholic extract of A. annua, were
investigated in Wistar rats in this study. Thirty five adult
albino Wistar rats (109 - 307 g) of both sexes used for the
study were randomly assigned on the basis of weight and
litter origin into seven study groups of five rats per
group. The control (group A) was administered placebo (2 ml
of pure olive oil) while test groups B to G received single
graded doses of 0.18, 0.35, 0.52, 0.70, 0.86 and 1.05 g/kg
body weight of extract in olive oil vehicle, respectively.
Twenty four hours after the single acute dose
administration, animals were sacrificed and testes and ovary
tissues obtained for histological evaluation using standard
methods. Results of phytochemistry of the alcoholic extract
assessed by standard methods identified the presence of
alkaloids, glycosides (presence of these in A. annua
is questionable), flavonoids, reducing compounds and
polyphenols present in different concentrations.
Histopathological changes showed adverse lesions on the
ovary ranging from atretic-degenerating corpus luteum, with
loss of connective substance, arrest of ovarian follicle
maturation to complete absence of ovarian follicle. No
adverse histopathological changes were observed in the
testes. The result suggests arrest of ovulation and a
predisposition to infertility (add in the female animals).
The possible roles of phytoestrogenic constituents in the
favonoid fraction of the phytochemicals are discussed.
Key words:
Artemisia annua, phytochemistry, histopathology,
testes and ovaries.
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