Protective Effect of Spirodela polyrhiza on Various Organs of Arsenicinduced Wistar Albino Rats

Abstract

Our study was undertaken to assess the protective effect of Spirodela polyrhiza against sodium arseniteinduced toxicity in experimental model. Animals were divided into six groups. The first group was used as control group while the other groups were treated with S. polyrhiza, sodium arsenite (10 ppm), 10 ppm As plus S. polyrhiza, sodium arsenite (30 ppm), and 30 ppm As plus S. polyrhiza respectively. Organs (kidney, spleen and heart) were collected at the end of the experiment for conducting histopathological analysis and measuring the amount of deposited arsenic. Tubular epithelium necrosis was seen affecting less than 50% of all renal specimens, on the other hand slightly enlarged white pulp region in splenic tissue were found in the groups of Wistar rat where S. polyrhiza and arsenic was administered concomitantly. Moreover, the observed moderate tissue changes (edema and muscle necrosis) in cardiac specimens of arsenic treated groups were found to be mild in the S. polyrhiza +arsenic treated groups. It is noteworthy to mention that S. polyrhiza not only reversed the arsenic-induced toxicity but also reduced the tissue arsenic load in Wistar rats to a considerable extent. Overall, the results indicated that S. polyrhiza might become useful in mitigating the toxic effects of arsenic.