Functional and Histomorphological Assessments of Liver and Kidney in Matured Female Albino Wistar Rats Following Ingestion of Citrullus lanatus Seed Extracts

Oil from different seeds in fruits has been exploited for nutritional and health benefits ranging from provision of essential nutrients for cellular metabolic processes to being an alternative route to the orthodox drugs in the quest for a better living. However, adverse consequences following consumption of this seed oils on both the liver and kidney are not well known. The present study was carried out to assess the integrity of the liver and kidney following the administration of different doses of Citrullus lanatus seed extracts (oil) to mature female albino Wistar rats. Twenty - four female albino Wistar rats weighing between 179 g – 257 g were randomly divided into four groups of six animals per group. Animals in group 1(control group) received normal rat chow placebo. The experimental groups 2, 3, and 4 received 932.0 mg, 1864.0 mg and 2796.0 mg seed oil extract / kg body weight in 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 ml respectively for twenty-one (21) days by oral gavaging. The effects of treatment on the integrity of the liver and kidney were assessed by measuring the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) for liver and Na+, K+, Cl-, HCO3 and Creatinine for kidney as well as the histomorphology of the liver and kidney for possible distortions. The results showed a dose-dependent decrease that was only significant (p<0.05) in group 4 relative to the control group for ALT, while both AST and ALP showed non-significant (p>0.05) changes. Furthermore, non-significant changes were recorded for Na+, K+, Cl-, HCO3 and Creatinine. Histomorphologically, the liver and kidney integrity were not altered except for fatty infiltration of group 4 hepatocytes relative to control group and hyperchromasia of group 4 kidney relative to control. Generally, this study showed that Citrullus lanatus seed oil consumption results are of great advantage to liver and kidney tissues when consumed.