Solomon Egeonu Chimaraoke

The heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood, hormones and other vital substances to different parts of the body, so it’s usually exposed to toxic substances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the curative effect of beta vulgaris on the heart following CCl₄ injection. Twenty five adult albino wistar weighing between 150g and 200g were used in this study. The animals were divided into 5 groups (A, B, C, D, and E). Groups A and B served as control. Group A was fed with feed and water and injected with paraffin oil for 2 days. Group B were treated Beta vulgaris extract alone. Groups C and D were injected with CCl₄ (1.0ml/kg b.w i.p) for two consecutive days and group D fed with BE throughout the experimental days. Group E were fed with BVE throughout the experiment and injected CCl₄ on the last 2days of the experimental period (28 days). At the end of the experimental period animals were weighed and sacrificed using chloroform. The heart were harvested and trimmed for histological analysis. The result showed there were decrease in mean body weight of 5% in group C animals. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in group C were significantly higher (p<0.05) when compared with the control group while groups B, D and E remained fairly normal. The histological examination of the heart in group C animals showed massive distortion of the cytoarchitecture of the heart, while group A and B were fairly normal. Group D and E showed a reversal in the distortions of cardiac structures. The result of this study showed that Beta Vulgaris extract has the ability to prevent and also restore histological and biochemical changes in the heart following intoxication.

DOI: 10.22271/phyto.2021.v10.i6d.14295

Pages: 260-265  |  309 Views  116 Downloads