Selected liver and kidney function indices of Wistar rats fed with Ficus exasperata Vahl leaf-based diet

Abstract

In a previous study, treatment of diabetes mellitus with Ficus exasperata leaf-based diet (FELD) significantly reduced the level of blood glucose and improved glucose utilization in diabetic rats. It is therefore important to ascertain safety of consumption of FELD in healthy rats. Twenty-four rats were randomly selected into 4 groups of 6 animals each namely:  C [control rats fed diet without Ficus exasperata leaf (FEL)], F1, F2, and F3 [experimental groups fed diets containing 10 %, 30 % and 50 % FEL respectively]. Rats were allowed access to the compounded feed ad libitum for 7, 14 and 21 days. They were sacrificed at the end of the experiment and serum collected for biochemical assays. Total protein, albumin, globulin, bilirubin (total and conjugated), urea, creatinine, electrolytes, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), liver and kidney histopathology were evaluated. Results showed no significant difference (p<0.05) in albumin, globulin, bilirubin, electrolytes, ALP, AST and ALT of rats fed with test diets compared to control. Also, there were no changes in the liver and kidney histoarchitecture of rats fed with different proportions of FELD compared to control. The increased urea and creatinine concentrations of rats fed with 30 and 50 % FELD at the end of days 7 and 14 reversed to normal at the end of day 21 of the study. Therefore, results of this study suggest that consumption of 10, 30 and 50 % Ficus exasperata leaf-based diet for 21 days did not impair the selected liver and kidney functions indices of the treated rats.