Histopathological Effects of the Annona muricata Aqueous Leaves Extract on the Liver and Kidneys of Albino Mice

Abstract

They showed anti-tumor effects in vivo and in vitro [17][18][19]. The essential oils of A. muricata leaves have parasiticidal, anti-diarrheal, rheumatological, and anti-neuralgic properties [20,21] AM water extract is commonly used in folk medicine to reduce inflammation as synthetic drugs have many side effects on liver and kidneys. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of AM extract against inflammation caused by a newly identified bacterial strain in our laboratory in albino mice. Materials and Methods Preparation of the water extract of Annona muricata leavesSterilized and shade air-dried Annona muricata leaves were purchased from USA from Nallife Company. AM leaves were of Thailand origin. Sixty grams of powdered AM leaves were soaked in 200 ml of boiling distilled water. Filtrate were extracted a second time with an additional 200 ml of boiling distilled water. The combined filtrate was then freezed-dried yielding a 2.43 g of brown, sticky precipitate that was stored at 4°C. Aliquot of extract residue were weighed and suspended in de-ionized distilled water to a final concentration of 34.2 mg/ml before use. AbstractAnnona muricata (AM) is a plant that is traditionally used for its various medicinal benefits. The present investigation aims at estimating the anti-inflammatory activity of AM leaf extract against peritonitis induced by Bacillus furmis. Albino mice (25-30 grams) were intra-peritoneally injected with 1.5 × 10 9 CFU Bacillus furmis and treated with either AM water extract (100 mg/kg) or combination of AM and aspirin. Control groups received only water. Mice were pre-treated with AM extract either two hours or 7 days prior to bacterial infection. Animals were sacrificed three days after bacterial infection. Livers and kidneys were removed and preserved in 10% formalin solution for histopathological studies or in Carnoys solution to assess level of glycogen in liver. The histopathological studies of animals treated with 100 mg/kg AME and 100 mg/kg aspirin showed a synergistic anti-inflammatory effect. However, the leaf extract alone exhibited different effect depending on the dose used. At high doses, AM leaf extract caused a toxic effect on both the liver and the kidney of mice, whereas at low dose it exhibited a protective effect. Therefore, we conclude that Annona muricata extract should be taken with precaution if to be used for extended period of time.

The safety and tolerability of Annona muricata leaf extract: a systematic review

“…Nine studies investigated the effects of A. muricata leaf extract on liver function . Among the studies investigating hepatic effects, eight studies demonstrated a hepatoprotective effect of A. muricata leaf extracts while one study demonstrated a hepatotoxic effect with no substantial differences in the dose, formulation or route of administration . Three in‐vitro and one animal study identified neurotoxic effects ( n = 4), with the animal study using annonacin at a dose of 3.8–7.6 mg/kg per day when administrated intravenously to rats for 28 days.…”

“…Antiulcerative ( n = 3) effects of A. muricata hydroalcoholic, ethanolic and ethyl acetate leaf extracts were identified when administered orally over the dose range of 10–400 mg/kg. Of the three studies which investigated A. muricata leaf extract in renal effect, two studies demonstrated a nephroprotective effect, while one demonstrated a nephrotoxic effect with no substantial differences in the dose, formulation or route of administration. There were limited data reported on the cardiac ( n = 1), haematological ( n = 2) and reproductive ( n = 1) effect of A. muricata leaf extract.…”

“…An in‐vitro study demonstrated a drug and metabolic enzyme interaction that resulted in an additive effect of annonacin to 4‐hydroxytamoxifen through the inhibition of MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line survival . An additive anti‐inflammatory effect between oral aqueous A. muricata leaf extract and aspirin was demonstrated in a mice model study at a dose of 100 mg/kg . Interactions were also reported between acetogenins and flavonoids isolated from A. muricata .…”

“…The studies in this review were judged to be of medium to high quality. However, only a very few animal studies applied randomization methodology . More sophisticated randomization allocation methods and blinding of researchers are needed to improve the internal validity of the studies and confidence in the interpretation of the findings .…”

“…[16,18,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Among the studies investigating hepatic effects, eight studies demonstrated a hepatoprotective effect of A. muricata leaf extracts [16,18,[25][26][27][28]30,31] while one study demonstrated a hepatotoxic effect with no substantial differences in the dose, formulation or route of administration. [29] Three in-vitro and one animal study identified neurotoxic effects (n = 4), [32][33][34][35] with the animal study using annonacin at a dose of 3.8-7.6 mg/kg per day when administrated intravenously to rats for 28 days. One animal study utilised ethanolic leaf extract at a dose of 25-100 mg/kg demonstrated sedative, anxiolytic and anticonvulsant-like effect.…”