The Effect of Kigelia Africana on the Uterus: Spotlight on Antioxidant Status and Cytoarchitecture

Numerous medicinal plants are of global interest today because of their therapeutic and economic significance. Kigelia africana, is a multipurpose medicinal plant with many attributes and considerable potentials. It is a powerful antioxidant which is rich in flavonoids and steroids. The study was carried out to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of kigelia africana on the uterus of the non-pregnant Sprague-Dawley (S-D) rats. Twenty female S-D rats were used and they were divided into four groups (A-D). Each group contained five rats per group. Groups B-D received kigelia africana extract at 100 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg doses respectively while group A served as the control and received distilled water. The animals were weighted daily, and the experiment was for duration of 28 days. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and a ventral laparotomy was performed; the uterine horns were removed and dissected into two parts. The right horn was processed for histology, while the left horn was assayed for biochemical markers of oxidative stress (catalase, lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase). A significant increase (p<0.05) in the activities of SOD was observed compared to the control. MDA activities reduced significantly in a dose-dependent manner. No significant difference was observed in the catalase activities of the treated and control rats. Histological sections of the treated and control uterus appeared normal. kigelia africana increases the antioxidant status of the uterus thus preserving the cytoarchitecture of the uterus.

Key Words: kigelia africana, uterus, lipid peroxidase (MDA), catalase, superoxidase dismutase (SOD)