The Effects of Anacardium occidentale Leave Extract on Histology of Selected Organs of Wistar Rats

Abstract

Medicinal plants are believed to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects. The cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is a tree in the family of the flowering plant Anacardiaceae. The family contains 73 genera and about 600 species. Anacardium contains 8 species, native to tropical America, of which the cashew is by far the most important economically. It is a multipurpose tree of the Amazon that grows up to 15m high. It has a thick and tortuous trunk with branches so winding that they frequently reach the ground. The cashew tree produces many resources and products. The bark and leaves are used medicinally. The cashew nut has international appeal and market value as food. Even the shell oil around the nut is used medicinally and has industrial applications in plastics and resin industries for its phenol content. The pseudo-fruit, a large pulpy and juicy part, have a fine sweet flavor and is commonly referred to as the ‘cashew fruit’ or the cashew apple. Cashew leaf and bark tea is used in Brazil and Peruvian herbal medicine, Tikinia in northwest Amazona, Wayapi tribe of Guyana as a douche for vaginal discharge and common diarrhea remedy. In Brazil, it is also used to treat diabetes, weakness, muscular debility, urinary disorders, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, scrofula, dyspepsia, genital problems, bronchitis, cough, intestinal colic, leishmaniasis, venereal disease, as well as impotence, and syphilis-related skin disorders. The general objective of this study is to evaluate the general effect of this plant (A. occidentale) extract on the histological architecture of selected organs of wistar rats. Empirical and Physical Measurements of wistar rats treated with oral administration of A. occidentale leaf extract for 28days. The results obtained in this study revealed that the ethanolic extract of Anacardium occidentale at low and high doses (200, and 600mg/kg body weight in wistar rats) adversely affect the liver. In addition, the hepatocyte (kupffer cells) of the liver of the wistar rats that received a low (200mg/kg body weight) and high dose (600mg/kg body weight) of the ethanolic extract showed more activation of the kupffer cells to the toxic extract. Therefore, it is impossible that the functions of the liver as a major metabolic and immunologic organ may be adversely affected