Introduction

Croton zambesicus (C. zambesicus; Fig 1) is a medicinal plant grown in Africa particularly in Nigeria ₁ . It is a Guineo – Congolese species widely spread in tropical Africa ₂ . It has anti-microbial ₃,₄ and anti-hypertensive ₅ potentials. The genus Croton is well known for its diterpenoid content and a lot of different types of diterpenes (phorbol esters, clerodane, labdane, kaurane, trachylobane, pimarane, etc.) have been isolated from this genus ₆ . The role of medicinal herbs in the treatment and prevention of disease do not guaranty their safety for uncontrolled use by an uninformed public ₇ .

The liver (the largest organ in the body) performs a number of functions some of which are plasma protein synthesis, production of bile and detoxification of most substances ₈ . It is note worthy that the liver is also a chemically reactant pool of cells that have a high rate of metabolism, sharing substrates and energy from one metabolic system to another, processing and synthesizing multiple substances that are transported to other areas of the body, and performing myriad other metabolic functions ₉ . Based on these varied functions it may be liable to injury particularly in situation of toxicity. It would therefore be expedient to investigate the effects of C. zambesicus on the liver of Swiss albino mice.

Recently we have found that ethanolic extract from the leaves of C. zambesicus have profertility property ₁ . In order to continue our investigations on the possible effect of C. zambesicus on body organs, we examine the histological effect of C. zambesicus on the liver of Swiss albino mice.

Figure 1

Figure 1: The leaves of

Materials And Methods

Plant Materials

Preparation of extract

Animal treatment

Histological procedure

Results

The treatment and control sections of the liver showed normal histological features with the hepatic lobules showing polyhedral three-dimensional shape. Sinusoids originate at the lobule margin and course between plates of hepatocytes to converge upon the terminal hepatic venule. The lobules were also seen to be bounded by thin septa of collagenous supporting tissue. (Figure2, 3 & 4).

Figure 2

Figure 2: Photomicrograph of the liver of group A (control) (Mag. x100)

Figure 3

Figure 3: Photomicrograph of the liver of group B (Mag. x100)

Figure 4

Figure 4: Photomicrograph of the liver of group C (Mag. x100)

Discussion

Our histological findings revealed that there was no distortion on the cyto-architecture of the liver parenchyma both in the treated and control groups. This confirms that consumption of C. zambesicus is safe for the liver which is the first organ susceptible to any injurious substances in case of toxicity. This investigation further buttresses a similar work by Abo et al ₃ which confirmed in their work- Antimicrobial potential of Spondias mombin, Croton zambesicus and Zygotritonia crocea, that there is justification for the use of these medicinal plants as anti-infective agents in traditional medicine. It may be inferred from the present study that even at higher dosage (10mg) C. zambesicus does not cause any degenerative or atrophic changes in the liver cells. The hepatic lobules which are polyhedral three-dimensional in shape were well preserved. The actual mechanism by which C. zambesicus performs their functions is still unknown but may be due to their high flavonoids content ₁₀,₁₁ . Flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins have been associated with antimicrobial effects in various studies using plant extracts ₃ . In Garcinia kola, flavonoid has been screened to have antioxidant property ₁₂,₁₃ . This antioxidant which is expected to be active in the flavonoid isolated in the leaves of C. zambesicus may have acted on the liver tissue by scavenging natural free radicals which involves the donation of electron ₁₄ .

Chemosuppressant potential of C. zambesicus can be further studied extensively to ascertain its extension in the management of some liver diseases.

The present investigation justifies that intake of ethanolic extract of C. zambesicus have no lethal effects on the liver of Swiss albino mice.

Acknowledgement