The Effects of Ethanolic Extract of Garcinia Kola on the Testes of Male Adult Wistar Rats

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of ethanolic extract of Garcinia kola on the testes of adult male wistar rats. Twenty four male adult wistar rats weighing 180-270kg were used for the study. They were divided into four groups (A, B, C & D) of six animals each. Group A serve as the experimental control and were orally administered 0.2ml of distilled water; the experimental groups received 0.3ml, 0.6ml and 0.9ml of ethanolic extract of Garcinia kola respectively for twenty eight days. Twenty four hours after the last administration, both group A and the experimental groups were weighed, sacrificed under the influence of chloroform vapour and dissected. The testes tissues were harvested weighed and fixed in 10% formalin for histological studies. The final body weight of groups C and D decreased significantly (P<0.001) compare with the control group A. The mean relative organ weight of groups C and D animals increased significantly (P<0.001) when compare with the control group A while group B had a similar mean weight with the control group. Histological findings showed necrotic changes in the interstitial cells of the testes, loss of spermatides and multinucleated giant cells in groups C and D. The result of this study revealed that consumption of the ethanolic extract of Garcinia kola at high doses may cause histopathological lesions in the testicular cells.

Keywords: Testes, Organ weight, Garcinia kola, Wistar rats, Spermatide, Distilled water.