Influence of crude extract of root of <i>Telfairia occidentalis</i> (fluted pumpkin) on the cytoarchitecture of the rat kidney and body weight

Abstract

The effect of crude extract of root of Telfairia occidentalis (fluted pumpkin) was investigated on the kidney of adult wistar rats. The crude extract of pumpkin root were given both intraperitoneally and orally to rats respectively.
The control group received distilled water throughout the duration of experiment. The administration lasted for seven days and on the eight day, the animals were sacrificed. Morphologically, there was decrease in the body weight, loss of appetite, weakness and death of some animals in the experimental groups. Histologically, the architecture of the kidneys in the experimental animals treated with pumpkin root extract orally and intraperitoneally showed enlarged tubules, distorted glomeruli and Bowman’s capsule, shrinking of proximal and distal convoluted tubules compared with the control. These results suggest that the root of Telfairia occidentalis may be nephrotoxic in wistar rats.

Keywords: crude extract, root, Telfairia occidentalis, kidney