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ABSTRACT
Damage to the spleen 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 extract of Viscum Album on the Spleen of lead acetate induced toxicity in adult Wistar rats. Twenty five adult Wistar rats were randomized into five groups (A-E) consisting of five rats each. Group A served as Control while groups B, C, D and E 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 treated daily with 200mg/kg (low dose) of mistletoe extract and 10mg/kg of Lead acetate, Group C was treated daily with 400mg/kg (intermediate dose) of mistletoe extract and 10mg/kg of Lead acetate, Group D was treated daily with 800mg/kg (High dose) of mistletoe extract and 10mg/kg of Lead acetate and Group E was administered 10mg/kg of Lead acetate only daily. The administration via an orogastric tube lasted for 28 days. 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 and sacrificed. The Spleens 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 was statistically significant increase (p<0.05)of body weight in groups A-D when the initial body weights were compared to the final body weights. There was also no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in the splenosomatic index across groups (B-E) when compared to the control group (A), and no statistically significant difference in splenic weight across all the groups. The Viscum Album extract had ameliorative and protective effects on the Spleen as revealed by the histological results.
