EFFECTS OF ALUMINIUM CHLORIDE EXPOSURE ON THE HISTOLOGY OF THE LIVER OF ADULT WISTAR RATS

Abstract

Human exposure to aluminium has been increasing over the last decades. Aluminium is presents in many manufactured foods, medicines and is also added to drinking water for purification purposes. The spleen is part of the lymphatic system and help in the production of lymphocytes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects that aluminium chloride exposure could have on the spleen of Wistar rats. Twenty adult wistar rats were used for this study. The Wistar rats were divided into five groups. Group I was the control that received distil water, groups II-V received various concentrations of aluminium chloride as follows: group II received 475 mg kg-1, group III received 950 mg kg-1, group IV received 1,425 mg kg-1 and group V received 1,900 mg kg-1 via oral intubation for duration of 8 weeks. The Wistar rats were humanely sacrificed, spleen removed and fixed in formalin. The spleen were processed and stained in Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E). Photomicrographs of the stained section were taken using light microscope attached to digital camera and laptop. The results revealed that there was decreased cellularity of both red and white pulps of the spleen in the aluminium treated groups. Based on the observations, researchers therefore conclude that aluminium chloride exposure had deleterious effects on the spleen.© Medwell Journals, 2012.