Abstract

Nweke Elizabeth O., Opara Julia K.* and Nweke Tochukwu M.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Medicinal plants or herbal medicine is the oldest form of health care available to mankind. This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina on the ovary of adult female wistar rat. Materials and methods: A total of 20 female albino rats weighing 150g – 200g were used in this study and were randomly divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each. Group A severed as the control group, group B received 200 mg/kg of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina, group C received 400 mg/kg of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina and group D received 800 mg/kg of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina. The extracts were given orally and the treatment lasted for 28 days. At the end of the study the animals were sacrificed and their ovaries harvested for histological examination. Data analysis was done using One way ANOVA and results were considered significant at P< 0.05. Results: Findings from this study showed a significant decrease in the body weight of all treated groups when compared to the control. There was a significant increase in the relative weight of the ovary in the treated groups when compared to the control. Histopathological findings showed mild follicular development and moderate degeneration of corpus luteum which occurred at a different doses. Conclusion: The extract of Vernonia amygdalina leaf could cause damage to the ovaries especially at high doses.