Description

Abstract
A total of 24 adult albino (Wister stains) rat, Rattus norvegecus, were grouped into (four I, II III and IV each containing six rats). Group I was fed with 25%, group II was fed with 50% and group III was fed with 75% amended diet containing the powdered leaves of Moringa oleifera mixed with standard livestock feed (Grower mash) for 93 days. Group IV served as the control and was fed with the standard diet alone. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and their vital organs were histopathologically examined. The result of the study revealed that some organs of the treated animals had observable microscopical lesions, while the control animals had no observable microscopic lesions in all the organs examined. The air-dried leaves of the plant were analysed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) transmission emission technique. It was found that it contained among others the following elements in parts per million: Ca (1.29 x104 x 104 ± 500); K (7.2 x 103± 600); S (3.8 x 104 ± 500); Fe (4.53 x 102 ± 21); and Cl (1.44 x 102 ± 15). The presence of some of these constituents could be responsible for the observable microscopicall lesions. It could therefore be concluded that, indiscriminate large consumption of the leaves of M. oleifera as both food and medicine is not safe for a long period of time.

Keywords: Moringa oleifer, Rattus norvegecus, elemental analysis, histopathology.