AMELIORATING AND ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS OF STEM-BARK AND LEAF EXTRACTS OF Ficus exasperata ON 1,2-DIMETHYL HYDRAZINE-INDUCED DAMAGE OF RENAL FUNCTION

Medicinal plants are globally recognized for their role in maintaining health, Ficus species are being recognized for their potential medicinal properties, particularly Ficus exasperata. 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH) is a potent colon carcinogen that is known to potentiate its carcinogenicity by inducing oxidative stress in the general circulation. Renal oxidative stress and haematological changes were induced in male Wistar rats by 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH). A total of thirty-five (35) rats were used for the study and divided into seven groups. The first group served as the control, groups 2 and 3 served as the leaf and stem bark extract groups of Ficus exasperata respectively, groups 4 was the DMH control, groups 5 and 6 were the leaf and stem bark extract of Ficus exasperata post-treated groups respectively, while group 7 was the combined extract post-treated group. The study revealed that exposure to DMH experimental rats decreased the antioxidants and increased oxidative stress. Treatment with the plant extracts boosted a significant increase in the antioxidant status (p < 0.05). Haematology study showed that the administration of DMH led to a reduced concentration of red blood cells and haemoglobin while treatments with the plant extracts elevated these parameters relative to the normal control. This study shows that DMH causes oxidative stress in kidney and red blood cells but the combination of methanol leaf and stem bark extracts of F. exasperata had a greater impact in reducing the negative effect of DMH compared to group 5 and 6.