Effects of Graded Doses of Ethanolic Extract of Pausinystalia Yohimbe Stem Bark on Biochemical and Hematological Indices In the Kidneys of Female Wistar Rats

Abstract

Pausinystalia yohimbe is a medicinal plant widely used as an aphrodisiac agent in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, but little is known about its effect on renal function after chronic use. This study was designed to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of Pausinystalia yohimbe stem bark on renal function parameters such as serum creatinine, urea, electrolyte, oxidative stress markers, and hematological parameters in female Wistar rats. Ethanolic extract of Pausinystalia yohimbe stem bark was administered orally to 3 groups of 5 female rats for 21 days as follows: group1 which served as control received distilled water while groups 2 and 3 received 400mg/kg and 800mg/kg body weight of the extract respectively. Thereafter the rats were sacrificed, and blood and kidney tissues were collected for biochemical analysis.  The result showed that there were no significant changes in urea, creatinine, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate levels while sodium level was significantly increased (p<0.05) when compared to the control. SOD and CAT tissue activities did not show any significant change (p<0.05) while there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in GSH and a significant reduction (p<0.05) in MDA. Also, there was no significant change (p<0.05) in WBC, PCV, and platelets, however, there was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in RBC and hemoglobin levels. The histopathology of the kidney showed that no significant changes were observed between treatment groups and control except for the 800 mg/kg body weight of the extract-treated group where there was mild multifocal vacuolar degeneration of some renal tubular epithelial cells. The result suggests that the chronic use of the ethanolic extract of Pausinystalia yohimbe stem bark protects the kidney against oxidative stress but adversely affects the functional capacities of the kidney and formation of erythropoietin in the stem cells and may also contribute to the increasing number of persons with high blood pressure.