Evaluation of the Therapeutic Potential of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Anacardium occidentale in the Management of Experimentally Induced Kidney Damage in Wistar Rat

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of ethanolic leaf extract of A. occidentale in wistar rats. Freshly harvested leaves of A. occidentale were shade dried and ground to fine powder. 500 g of powdered plant sample was macerated in ethanol for 72 hrs. Twenty five adult male wistar rats were divided into five groups of five rats each. Group 1 was the normal control and was fed normal rat feed and water only, Group II was the negative control and was induced renal damage without treatment, Group III-V were induced renal damage and treated with 100, 300, 500 mg/kg b.w of extract orally respectively. Animals were sacrificed, blood collected and tissue sample harvested and analysed using standard procedures. Induction of renal damage in rats caused a significant (P<0.05) decrease in serum urea and creatinine levels as well as severe weight loss. However, administration of 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg bw of extract of A. occidentale caused a dose dependent reversal of the serum creatinine and urea to values that were not significantly (P>0.05) different from the recorded for the control. Similar observation was made on their weight. In conclusion, it was deduced from this study that leaf of A. occidentale could be a repository of active therapeutic ingredients for the treatment of renal dysfunction.