Histopathological study on the effects of oral administration of aqueous leaf extracts of cymbopogon citratus on the frontal cortex of male sprague dawley rats

This investigation was to evaluate the histopathological effects of oral consumption of the aqueous leaf extract of Cymbopogon citratus on the frontal cortex of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Ten male SD rats weighing between 150-230g were used. The rats were randomly assigned into two groups designated as groups A and B. Group A served as the control group while group B was the treatment. 300 mg/kg body weight of the aqueous leaf extract of C. citratus was administered once daily for 14 consecutive days  (14d) orally through a sterilized orogastric tube, while the control rats received equal volume of phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The rats were sacrificed 24 hours after the last administration. The frontal cortices were excised, fixed in 10% formol calcium for 18 hours and were processed for routine light microscopic study using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) method. The histological findings revealed that the extract treated sections showed cytoarchitectural distortions ranging from neuronal degeneration, distortion, vacuolations and evidence of necrotic bodies while the sections from the rats in group B conform to normal histological profile. These findings suggest a deleterious and toxic effects of aqueous leaf extract of C . citratus on the frontal cortex of SD rats.