Assessment of the effect of aqueous leaf extract of cassava (Mannihot esculenta) on adult Wistar rats

This study aimed to explore the effect of aqueous leaf extract of Mannihot esculenta on the morphology and histology of the kidney of adult Wistar rats. Three groups of Wistar rats were used. Group A served as the control treated with 0.3 ml of normal saline, while groups B and C served as the experimental groups. Group B and C were treated with aqueous extract of M. esculenta orally at 0.2 and 0.5 ml, respectively for 14 days. At the end, the animals were sacrificed and the kidneys were processed for routine histology. From the results obtained, significant decrease in body weight of the rats treated with 0.5 ml and significant increase in the weight of the rats treated with 0.2 ml of the extract as compared to the control group was observed. The kidney section from the control group revealed normal kidney architecture. Low dose group showed hypertrophy of the tubular cells, occlusion of the Bowman’s space and edematous glomerulus. High dose group animals revealed dilated convoluted tubules, occluded Bowman’s space and glomerular derangement indicating adverse effect of the extract. From the results of this study, it may be concluded that the administration of aqueous extract of M. esculenta leaf is toxic to Wistar rats.   Key words: Cassava, Wistar Rat, kidney, Bowmans space.