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4432 J. Med. Plants Res.
Figure 1. Photomicrographs of rat liver sections: A and B showing the normal central vein (CV) with radiating
cords of hepatocytes and portal traid (circle) in control group; C and D showing leukocyte infiltration (thick arrows)
and haemorrhage (thin arrows) in liver tissues of rats treated with S. aphylla extracts. (H & E; 20x).
glomerulus, dilation of renal tubules and infiltration of
leukocytes around blood vessels (Figure 2B to D). The
kidney sections of the control group showed normal renal
corpuscle and renal tubules (Figure 2A).
DISCUSSION
Although, many people believe that the use of biological
agents is safe, quite a few scientific papers have reported
the toxicity of bioinsecticides derived from plant materials
on mammals and non-target organisms. Moreover, a lack
of knowledge of the standardized dosage of biological
substances may also be leading to toxicity. Therefore,
any information on plants toxicity is still important. Although,
the scientific evaluations on insecticidal efficiency
of S. aphylla have been reported (Brem et al., 2002; Tang
et al., 2008), its effects on livers and kidneys are not yet
known. The present study was designed to evaluate the
effects of the ethanolic extract from the roots of S. aphylla
on male albino rats by focusing on the alterations of
structures and functions of livers and kidneys and
hematological indices. The results of our study showed
no significant differences in AST, ALT, ALP, BUN and
creatinine values of rats treated with S. aphylla extracts
at the doses of 300 and 500 mg/kg body weight when
compared to those of the control group (Table 1). All
these clinical parameters were normal and within the
reference ranges of rats (Shape and La Regina, 1998).
These results indicated that giving S. aphylla extracts
orally at the doses and duration investigated in this study
did not affect liver and kidney functions. Some studies
reported that female mice treated with the extract from
Stemona curtisii. Hk. f., a member of Stemonaceae
family, showed no biochemical changes as compared to
the control group (Pandee et al., 2003). Livers and
kidneys are internal organs which have several functions.
One important role of these organs is the elimination of
waste products and toxic substances. Dysfunctions of
these organs lead to leaking of biochemical substances
into the blood circulatory system (Gaw et al., 1999; Moss
and Henderson, 1996). Therefore, increasing biochemical
values in blood is a sign of abnormal liver and kidney
function due to decreased excretion of waste products.
Our results reveal that the ethanolic extract from the root
of S.