Abstract:
Introduction/Aim: The use of medicinal plants has attained a commanding role in health system all over the world. This involves the use of me¬dicinal plants not only for the treatment of diseases but also as potential material for maintaining good health and conditions. Many countries in the world, that is, two-third of the world’s population depends on herbal medicine for primary health care. Homalium letestui is an evergreen tree. The plant has been of immense benefit to traditional users. A bark-decoction, combined with other medicinal plants, is taken by draught for orchitis, and bark-scrapings enter a prescription given to a newly delivered woman. In this study the histological effect of the ethanol stem extract of Homalium lestetui on rat paracetamol induce liver injury was carried out using H&E and Gordon and Sweet silver impregnation Technique.
Method: Thirty-six rats where used for this work. Group one served as the positive control receiving normal saline, group two served as or¬ganotoxic group received paracetamol 2000 mg/kg body weight, group 3 received silymarin 100 mg/mg, while group 4, 5 and 6 received 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg of the extract respectively. General staining procedure Hematoxylin and Eosin and the specific staining technique, Gordon and Sweet silver impregnation Technique were carried out on the liver. Haematological and chempathological investigation were also done.
Result: In the groups pretreated with the extract there were slight areas of vacuolation, cellular degeneration, hepatocytic hyperplasia, cellular proliferation and Pyknotic nucleus compared to organotoxic group which revealed severe cellular degeneration, vascular congestion, hepatocytic hyperplasia and pyknotic nucleus in H&E stain. In Gordon and Sweet silver impregnation Technique, there were well structured reticular fibers with no obvious abnormality seen in the H. letestui administered group, while there were distortion and degeneration of the reticular fibres in the group that received paracetamol only.
Conclusion: Histological work suggests that the plant may prevent or protect the liver architecture.
