Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Psidium Guajava Leaves on the Histochemistry and Histological Integrity of the Cerebellum and Cerebral Cortex in Rats

Abstract

Aims: Psidium Guajava, also called guava is reported to be of high medicinal value due to its phytochemical compositions. The effects of its aqueous leaf extract were investigated in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex of adult Wistar rats. Study Design: Twenty inbred adult male Wistar rats of average weight 200 g were divided into groups 1 – 4. The control received 5 ml kg-1 of distilled water, while the treatment groups received oral doses of 100 mg kg-1, 150 mg kg-1, and 200 mg kg-1 body weight of P. guajava for twenty-one days Place and Duration of Study: This research was undertaken at the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria, and the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Uyo, Nigeria, in July 2024. Methodology: The animals were sacrificed after they were deeply anesthetized with ketamine–hydrochloride. The brains were perfused fixed in 10 % buffered formalin. They were processed using hematoxylin and eosin for cellular and neuronal integrity. Representative sections were also used for histochemical analysis using Cresyl Fast Violet staining techniques. Results: There was a low significant difference (P = .05) in body weights of the animals in the treatment groups when compared to the control. However, there was no significant difference in the respective weights of the animals in the different test groups when compared to each other. Histological observations of the cerebellum showed atrophied, karyorrhectic, hypertrophied and vacuolated neuronal cells. The cerebral cortical cytoarchitecture showed increased glia densities with pyknotic and hypertrophied pyramidal neuron. Also, the cerebellum and cerebral cortical layers had chromatolysis of neuronal cells with poor Nissl substance expressions when compared with the control group. Conclusion: Psidium Guajava induced a dose-dependent adverse effects on the neurohistology and histochemical integrity of the cerebellum and cerebral cortex This may suggest neuronal and biochemical degeneration, thus resulting in impaired cerebellar and cerebral cortical functions.