HISTOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF TAMARIND SEED EXTRACT ON COBRA VENOM IN MICE

摘要

Objective: Tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ) has been used as a medical plant for treating many human and animal diseases and widely used as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of snake bites. The objective of the study is to investigate whether tamarind seed extract (TSE) has neutralization activity on an adverse histological reaction against venoms of the King Cobra. Methods: A total of 20 healthy mature male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups with 5 mice in each. The control group was injected with 1 ml of normal saline. The second group was injected subcutaneously with a single dose of 24.96 μg/20 g King Cobra venom (KCV) solution. The third group was injected with the same dose of KCV solution and 10 mg/20 g of TSE. The fourth group was injected with the same dose of KCV solution and 15 mg/20 g TSE solution. The animals were sacrificed after 24 hrs of injection of the solution. Fragments of muscle, kidney, and liver were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed for light microscopical studies. Results: The result showed that TSE reduced the histopathological changes induced by the KCV in the muscles, livers, and kidneys, and the improvement was proportional to the applied dose of the TSE indicating that TSE prevents adverse histological changes in the muscle, liver, and kidney. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that TSE reduced the histopathological changes in the muscle, liver, and kidney induced by KCV in mice.