Abstract
The customary puerperal usage of Natron consumption has been identified as one of the risk factors in the cause of high blood pressure in human as well as kidney diseases and abortion in early pregnancies in female. This study was done to determine the effect of Natron and other Natron alternatives on the histology of kidney and liver in male Wistar Albino rats Twenty-five Wistar albino rats of the same sexes (male) weighing 100- 140 kg body weights were used and were divided into five groups. Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 were fed with feed mixed with natron powder, feed mixed with wood ash, feed mixed with sesame ash, feed mixed with palm fruit bunch ash respectively, while group 6 served as a normal control (fed with plain feed). The animals were kept in plastic cages, allowed to acclimatize for two weeks before the commencement of the experiment. They were fed with pelletized growers’ feed (Vital feed) and were allowed access to water. The rats were fed with 25kg of feeds for 12 days to allow them stabilized and recover from stress. Then the rats were fed with the pelletized feed for four weeks to all the groups. The animals were anaesthetized with chloroform vapour after 4 weeks and blood samples were collected through cardiac puncture into labeled tubes for electrolyte analyses. The labeled centrifuge tubes were allowed to stand for 30 minutes to clot and centrifuged at 4000 g for 10mm and the serum obtained was pipette into labeled tubes. The organs were subjected to histology. The liver tissues were embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned at 5μm and stained by hematoxylin and eosin. Proximate analysis showed that natron, palm bunch ash, sesame stem ash, and parkia wood ash had crude protein values of 0.03%, 0.05%, 0.07%, and 0.09% respectively. Fat and fiber were not present in both Natron and its alternatives. The appreciable amount of ash content in the food additives indicated good mineral preservation capacity. Parkia wood ash may contain toxic chemical substances that may affect the kidney and liver.
Highlights
Recent scientific studies have revealed that there has been an increased use of geological mineral substances as food for both human and animal [1] One of these is Natron, called Potash, which is produced globally in a large amount above 30 million tons per year, mainly for use in fertilizers
Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 were fed with feed mixed with natron powder, feed mixed with wood ash, feed mixed with sesame ash, feed mixed with palm fruit bunch ash respectively, while group 6 served as a normal control
The micrograph of the liver of Albino rats fed with natron, parkia wood ash, sesame ash, palm bunch ash and control are presented in plate 6a & 6b, 7a & 7b, 8a & 8b, 9a & 9b and 10a & 10b respectively
Summary
Recent scientific studies have revealed that there has been an increased use of geological mineral substances as food for both human and animal [1] One of these is Natron, called Potash, which is produced globally in a large amount above 30 million tons per year, mainly for use in fertilizers. Several types of fertilizer-potash has the single largest global industrial use of potassium. Potash is a type of lake salt (sodium bicarbonate) dried and hydrated in nature. This type of lake salt usually form and shoot out from the soil during rainy season but tends to fall off, solidify and dry up during the dry season [3]. The ancient way of producing potassium carbonate (K2CO3) involved gathering or producing wood ash from ash burning, leaching the ashes and thereafter evaporating the solution collected in large iron pots, leaving the pot ash [4]
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