Hepatoprotective Effects of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on Mercury-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Adult Female Wistar Rats

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has over the years been discovered to possess so many therapeutic solutions to certain health problems and this has being of great help to the health sector. In this study, the hepatoprotective and curative effects of stock solution ginger on the liver of mercury induced adult female wistar rats were evaluated in varying doses. 24 adult female wistar rats were used in this study and allocated into 4 groups of 6 animals each. Groups 2, 3 and 4 served as the test groups receiving 500mg/kg of ginger, 2ml/kg of mercury and a combination of 500mg/kg ginger and 2ml/kg mercury respectively, while the group 1 was the control group, all these within a period of 28 days after 14 days of acclimatization. 24 hours after the last administration of the extract was done, the animals were sacrificed in a chloroform chamber and each of them was placed in the anatomical position for organ harvesting proper before processing the tissues by histological techniques and then analysis. The results obtained showed that ginger had the ability to cure and protect the liver against damage already caused by the mercury. This study therefore suggests that ginger be added as a supplementary diet to individuals already exposed to mercury.

Keywords: Curative, Ginger, Hepatoprotective, Liver, Mercury