HEPATOTOXICIDADE DE PLANTAS MEDICINAIS. XXIII. AÇÃO DA INFUSÃO DE LEONOTIS NEPETAEFOLIA R.BR. NO RATO HEPATOTOXICITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS. XXIII. ACTION OF LEONOTIS NEPETAEFOLIA R.BR. INFUSION IN RATS.

the effects of Leonotis nepetaefolia R.Br. on liver structure were evaluated in normal Wistar rats. Dried stems and leaves of cordao-de-frade were used. The plant was supplied as infusion (1.7 g/125 ml water) in place of drinking water for 7 days. All rats were sacrificed at the end of the experiment. Paraffin-embbeded 6-mm-thick sections from livers fixed in 10% formaldehyde were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Karyometric and stereological techniques were employed. Histopathological analysis revealed hepatocytes increased in size. Cells showed granular cytoplasm, but were morphologically similar to those of controls. Centrilobular veins were dilated and the portal area was disorganized with vacuolized collagen, and colangiocytes were higher than those in the control. From these findings and observations, it was concluded that the infusion of Leonotis nepetaefolia produced more voluminous hepatocytes with perfectly reversible more granular cytoplasm similar to those of control.