Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Histo-Architectural and Testicular Weight Changes in Wistar Rats Fed with Graded Doses of Piliostigma thonningii (Schumach)

Nwaokoro Isioma Cynthia, Lilian Ebele Chris-Ozoko, Emmanuel Igho Odokuma

Asian Journal of Medicine and Health · pp. 140–153 · Published 1 Jul 2023

10.9734/ajmah/2023/v21i9868

Abstract

Introduction: Piliostigma thonningii is an under explored leguminous plant that belong to the family, Leguminosa – caealpiniodae. The objective of this study therefore was to investigate the effect(s) of its ethanolic leaf extract on male testicular weight and histo-architecture. Material and Methods: Forty (40) male Wistar rats of an average of 160-200 g weight were used for the experiment. They were randomly divided into four (4) groups of ten (10) rats each. The groups were represented as: group 1 served as control, while groups 2, 3 and 4 were treated with 500 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg and 1200 mg/kg of the extract for 14 days respectively. At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed, testes harvested, weighed and checked for histological changes in seminiferous tubules, epididymis and vas deference. Where necessary, obtained values were subjected to One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and a level of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Results showed that ethanolic leaf extract of P. thonningii caused a significant (p<0.05) decrease in testicular weight following 14days of administration. Histomicrograph showed that 500mg/Kg Piliostigma thonningii for 14 Days caused vascular dilatation and congestion within the lining of the seminiferous tubules, 1000 mg/kg P. thonningii for 14 days caused less deteriorating effects on the histo-architecture of the rats’ testes as the seminiferous tubules appeared normal; even though there was mild hyperplasia of the interstitial cells of Leydig. 1200 mg/kg Piliostigma thonningii caused vascular dilatation and active congestion in the seminiferous tubules with moderate hyperplasia of the interstitial cells of Leydig. Histological features of the testes showed the presence of marked vascular dilatation, active congestion and mild hyperplasia of interstitial cells of Leydig in the testes of rats treated with 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg P. thonningii. Thus, this study has shown that 14 days treatment of 500 mg/kg Piliostigma thonningii caused active interstitial congestion, 1000 mg/kg with plump fibroblast in the epididymis.

Piliostigma thonningii epididymis seminiferous tubules vas deferens

References (17)

  1. 1 Basic and Clinical Pharmacology [DOI]
  2. 2 Ethnopharmacological survey of different uses of seven medicinal plants from Mali, (West Africa) in the regions Doila, Kolokani and Siby [DOI]
  3. 3 Guidelines on Dosage Calculation and Stock Solution Preparation in Experimental Animals’ Studies
  4. 4 Medical provision in africa - past and present [DOI]
  5. 5 Testicular tissue cryopreservation and spermatogonial stem cell transplantation to restore fertility: from bench to bedside [DOI]
  6. 6 The Future of Complementary and Alternative Medicine— Models of Integration [DOI]
  7. 7 The potentiality of medicinal plants as the source of new contraceptive principles in males [DOI]
  8. 8 Poverty and health care demand in Kenya [DOI]
  9. 9 Complementary and alternative medicine: the move into mainstream health care [DOI]
  10. 10 Natural products for lead identification: Nature is a valuable resource for providing tools [DOI]
  11. 11 Changing use of traditional healthcare amongst those dying of HIV related disease and TB in rural South Africa from 2003 – 2011: a retrospective cohort study [DOI]
  12. 12 Effect of Chronic Consumption of Piliostigma thonningii on Activities of Alanine Aminotransferase and Aspartate Aminotransferase in Serum and Liver in Rattus novergicus [DOI]
  13. 13 Preliminary Test of Phytochemical Screening of Crude Extracts of Moringa oleifera Seed [DOI]
  14. 14 Hormonal Male Contraception [DOI]
  15. 15 Impact of oral administration of ethanol leaf extract of Piliostigma thonningii on fertility hormones of male Wistar rats
  16. 16 EFFECT OF PHYTOGENIC FEED ADDITIVES ON GONADAL DEVELOPMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS MOSSAMBICUS)
  17. 17 Fertility Decline in the Muslim World: A Veritable Sea-Change, Still Curiously Unnoticed [DOI]

Cited by 2

Comparative evaluation of nephroprotective efficacy of Swertia chirata leaves and Morus nigra fruit with metformin in alloxan‑induced diabetic Mus musculus

Shehla Tasneem, Faiza Zubair, N. Riaz · Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences · 2025

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

0

Page views

0

PDF downloads

0

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

No views recorded yet.

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

No traffic recorded yet.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.