Central European Journal of Botany

3-6

Authors: Iliyasu A.A. Ibrahim, Muhammad Chindo

The research was piloted to establish the hepatotoxic potentials of the leaf extract of Vitex dodiana on liver enzymes of apparently healthy albino rats. A total of sixteen (16) albino rats were clustered into four (4) groups of four (4) rats each designated as group A – D, Group A served as control while groups B, C and D were treated with 200 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg aqueous leaves of extract of Vitex dodiana respectively for a period of two weeks. The liver enzymes were determined using spectrophotometric methods. The activity of AST was slightly decreased to 6.5±0.20 in the rats treated with 200 mg/kg body weight of the extract and slightly decreased to 5.2±0.12 and 5.0±0.33 in the rats treated with 300 and 400 mg/kg body weight of the extracts respectively when compared with untreated group (5.6±0.15) with no significant (P > 0.05) differences. The activity of ALT was slightly decreased to 2.5±0.11 in the rats treated with 300mg/kg body weight of the extracts and slightly increased to 2.64±0.17 and decreased to 2.4±0.04 in the rats treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight of the extracts respectively when compared with untreated group (2.8±0.31) with no significant (P > 0.05) difference. The result of ALP also showed no significant (P < 0.05) difference of serum ALP activity, though it was observed in the rats treated with 400 mg/kg body weight of the extracts the serum concentration decreased to 100.06±0.66, and 102.44±2.34 at 300 mg/kg body weight and 104.56±1.20 at 200 mg/kg body weight of the extracts, but no significant (P > 0.05) difference was observed when compared with untreated group (106.26±8.51). The results revealed no significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the activity of serum liver enzymes of the rats treated with the three different doses of Vitex dodiana extract when compared with control rats. In conclusion, acute oral administration of aqeous extract of Vitex dodiana was found to be relatively safe.

12-17

Authors: Muhammad Zafar, Omer Kılıç, Mushtaq Ahmad, Lubna

The present study is insight into foliar epidermal anatomy for characterizing species and their utility in the taxonomic separation of certain taxa of family of Vitaceae from Pakistan. The studied foliar micromorphology of 5 species; Parthenocissus semicordata (Wall.) Planch, Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch, Ampelopsis vitifolia (Boiss.) Planch. subsp. hazaraganjiensis Nazim & Qaiser, Cissus trifoliata (L.) L., and Cissus quadrangularis L. was analysed and documented using Light microscopy (LM) for both qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Epidermal cells observed were either polygonal or irregular shaped, with straight or undulate anticlinal walls. Two types of stomata observed were paracytic and anomocytic with elliptical shaped guard cell all the studied species except adaxial surface of Parthenocissus semicordata, Parthenocissus tricuspidata and Ampelopsis vitifolia subsp. hazaraganjiensis. Trichomes were conical shaped, non-glandular either unicellular or multicellular. The quantitative parameters studied were size (length and width) of stomata, subsidiary cell, guard cells, stomatal pore, stomatal complex, trichomes. There was much variation in the size of all the parameters investigated. These anatomical features may help in the discrimination of studied taxa and are of much significance for the plant taxonomist in the correct identification of taxa.