Effect of Caesalpinia bonducella seed extract on histoarchitecture of some vital organs and clinical chemistry in female albino rats

1 Introduction

Herbs have attracted attention as a potential natural health care approach that focuses on protecting and restoring the health (Badakhshan et al., 2011). Recently herbal medicines are being increasingly utilized to treat a wide variety of clinical diseases, with relatively little knowledge regarding their modes of action. India is sitting on a gold mine of well-recorded and traditionally well-practiced knowledge of herbal medicines; therefore, any scientific data on such plant derivatives in order to determine the toxic or beneficiary effects when used for a short or long period of time as food or medicine to various tissues and organs could be of clinical importance (Desai, 2005).

Caesalpinia bonducella F., (Caesalpiniaceae) commonly known as Nata Karanja, is a prickly shrub found throughout the hotter parts of India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Seeds consist of a thick, brittle shell with a yellowish white bitter fatty kernel (Nadkarni, 1954). It is reported to have multiple therapeutic properties like adaptogenic and antidiabetic (Kannur et al., 2006a,b), antitumor (Gupta et al., 2004) antifilarial (Gaur et al., 2008), immunomodulatory antioxidant (Shukla et al., 2009a,b), anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic (Shukla et al., 2010), hypoglycemic, antihyperglycemic, hypolipidemic (Sharma et al., 1997; Chakrabarti et al., 2003), muscle contractile activity (Datte et al., 2004), antimicrobial (Arif et al., 2009), antifertility (Sukhdev et al., 2011) and diuretic agent (Khedkar et al., 2011). Its leaf powder is used to treat gynecological disorders like menorrhagia and leucorrhoea (Vidyasagar and Prashantkumar, 2007).

The seeds of C. bonducella are found to contain various chemical constituents such as furanoditerpenes, phytosterinin, β-sitosterol, flavonoids, bonducellin, aspartic acid, arginine, citrulline and β-carotene (Williamson, 2002).

Despite its many uses for medicinal purposes, the seed of this plant has not yet been scientifically evaluated for its effect on vital organs by adopting histological procedure in parallel with clinical chemistry. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess its effect on the histoarchitecture of some vital organs and clinical chemistry in Wistar female albino rats.

2 Material and methods

3 Results

3.4

3.4 Histological observations

The light microscopy examinations of vital organs are presented in Fig. 1. The liver of normal control animals showed complete hepatic lobules with well formed hepatocytes with distinct portal triads. Hepatic cells arranged in cord like fashion, separated by sinusoids and central vein were seen clearly (Fig. 1a). These structures were also found intact in all extract treated animals (Fig. 1b–d). Chromaffin cells and sinusoid areas of the medulla region of adrenal gland were devoid of any treatment related alteration (Fig. 1e-h). Kidney (Fig. 1i-l), spleen (Fig. 1m-p) and heart (Fig. 1q-t) showed no evidence of vacuolations or distortion in all tested doses when compared with vehicle treated control. The beta cells of endocrine pancreas seemed to proliferate in treated group over the vehicle treated group. Exocrine pancreas showed no evidence of deformation (Fig. 1u-x).

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Figure 1

Histoarchitecture of the vital organs of female rats of vehicle treated control and following treatment with Caesalpinia bonducella seed extract at the doses 100, 200, 300 mg/kg b.wt for 10 days. Abbreviation-CV-central vein, H-hepatocyte, S-sinusoids, CC-chromaffin cell, G-glomerulus, DT-distal tubule, PT-proximal tubule, RP-red Pulp, F-follicle, MZ-marginal zone, MS-marginal sinus, ID-intercalated disk, N-nucleus, βc-beta cells, bn-basal nucleus, IS-interlobular septa, LA-lobular acini.

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4 Discussion

Considering the complexity of herbals in general and their inherent biological variation, it is now necessary to evaluate their safety, efficacy and quality (Castro et al., 2009). In the present study, we investigated the effect of oral administration of CBSE for 10 consecutive days. There were no noticeable changes in the behavioral profile, body, organ weights and gross pathology of vital organs at all tested dose levels. These records can be considered as a part of pharmacological effects of herbs but not as toxicological signs. The research finding of Sagar and Vidyasagar (2010) is in favor of the present investigation where administration of ethyl acetate extract of C. bonducella leaves at a dose level of 166.7 and 250 mg/kg b.wt in albino mice for fifteen days did not produce marked changes in various clinical parameters and organ weight except liver at 250 mg/kg b.wt. Moreover, Gupta et al. (2004) have also supported the present study where the treatment of methanolic leaf extract of C. bonducella against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in Swiss albino mice did not produce any significant change in the weight of liver, kidney, brain and spleen at 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg b.wt in fourteen days of treatment.

Histological studies play an important role in anatomical localization of toxic/beneficial action of various phytochemicals. In the present study, liver showed intact hepatocytes, central vein and sinusoids in all the seed treated animals. A number of scientific reports indicated certain flavonoids, triterpenoids and steroids have a protective effect on the liver due to their antioxidant properties (DeFeudis et al., 2003; Takeoka and Dao, 2003). Therefore, the presence of these phytochemicals in ethanolic seed extract of C. bonducella rules out any possibility of degenerative changes in liver histoarchitecture, in the present study. Moreover, Sambath et al. (2010) have also reported hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of C. bonducella on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg b.wt for 10 days.

Histoarchitecture of medulla of adrenal gland also indicated that the seed extract does not have an adverse effect in treated animals. This is probably due to adaptogenic potential (Kannur et al., 2006a) of C. bonducella seed extract.

The significant decrease in the creatinine level and well organized glomerulus, proximal and distal tubule in seed extract animals clearly indicate that the kidneys were working efficiently in extract treated animal. Khedkar et al. (2011) have also reported diuretic effects of C. bonducella seed extracts with a dose-dependent increase in urine excretion and specific conductivity at dose levels of 150 and 300 mg/kg b.wt in rats and support the present findings.

The significant increase in the RBC,WBC, Platelet counts, hemoglobin, PCV levels in extract treated animals may be attributed to the immunomodulatory potential of C. bonducella seed extract which could have boosted up the immune system and site of hematopoiesis. To strengthen this possibility, histological analysis of spleen, a site of hematopoiesis in rodents (Cesta, 2006) was carried out. It was found that spleen exhibited well organized marginal sinus, marginal zone, follicle with germ center and red pulp region in extract treated animals. Moreover, Shukla et al. (2009a) have also reported immunomodulatory potential of ethanolic seed extract of C. bonducella (200–500 mg/kg b.wt) by oral administration which evoked a significant increase in percent neutrophil adhesion to nylon fibers as well as a dose-dependent increase in antibody titer values and potentiated the delayed type hypersensitivity reaction induced by sheep red blood cells. Also it prevented myelosuppression in cyclophosphamide drug treated rats and good responses toward phagocytosis in carbon clearance assay.

It is a well established fact that the hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and high LDL levels are major pathological conditions that contribute to the cardiac cell death. In the present study, significantly decreased levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and an increased level of HDL in the seed extract treated animals indicate normal heart function. Moreover, histoarchitecture of cardiac cells have also exhibited normal intact structure in treated rats and supports the above fact. Thus, seeds of C. bonducella may be used as a cardioprotective agent.

The beta cells in Islet of Langerhans seemed to proliferate in the seed extract treated groups when compared to vehicle treated control group. This could be due to the high contents of flavonoids in seeds of C. bonducella which exhibits high ability of pancreas β-cell regeneration (Szkudelski, 2001). Moreover, Sharma et al. (1997) Chakrabarti et al. (2005) and Kannur et al. (2006b) have also reported the antidiabetic potential of C. bonducella seed extract in diabetic animal models at different doses and support the present finding.

5 Conclusion

The ethanolic seed extract of C. bonducella probably possesses phytochemicals of cytoprotective nature. Further, extensive experimental studies should be conducted to establish the exact mechanism of action and for the isolation and characterization of the active principle.