ABSTRACT

Injuries to the kidney could be caused by exposure to chemicals which could lead to impaired function of the organ. Impaired function of the organ could lead to critical health conditions or even death. The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1997) estimates that 80% of some Asia and African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. A wide variety of compounds that are used to perform important biological functions have been reported to be synthesized by plants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of aqueous seed extract of Brassica nigra on 1,2 Dimethyl phenylhydrazine-induced toxicity in adult Wistar rats. Thirty adult Wistar rats were randomized into six groups (A-F) consisting of five rats each. Group A served as Control while groups B, C, D, E and F served as treated groups. The rats were fed with grower mash feed (Premier Feed mills, Nigeria) and had free access to water throughout the entire study period. Group A which served as Control was given feed and water alone, Group B was given 10ml of Penylhydrazine (PHZ) only. Group C was given 10ml of PHZ and 1ml of body Oxaloplatin, Group D was given 10ml of PHZ and 150ml/kg Body weight of Brassica nigra extract, Group E was given 10ml PHZ and 30ml/kg body weight of extract, Group F was given 10ml of PHZ and 600mg/kg body weight of extract. All animals had free access to food and water throughout the experiment. At the end of the treatment regime, the rats were anaesthetized using chloroform. The kidneys were harvested and weighed and immediately fixed in 10% formal-saline to avoid autolysis and was transported to the histopathology laboratory of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for tissue processing. The results from this study showed that there were statistically significant increase (p<0.005)of body weight across the groups, when the initial body weights were compared to the final body weights. There was also a significant increase on the renosomatic index in the group F when compared to control group, and significant decrease in urea Na⁺ k⁺ and Cl^- activity in other groups when compared to control. The Brassica nigra extract had ameliorative and protective effect on the kidney  as  revealed  by  the  histological  result.