International Journal of Biomedical And Advance Research ISSN: 2229-3809 (Online) Journal DOI:10.7439/ijbar CODEN:IJBABN IJBAR (2014) 05 (10) www.ssjournals.com Research Article The histological effects of Annona Muricata (Soursop) on the Adrenal Gland of Adult Wistar Rats Ezejindu DN* 1 , Udemezue OO 1 , Chukwujekwu IE 1 , Uchefuna RC 2 , Maduka SO 2 , Akingboye AJ 1 and Ezejindu CN 3 1 Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. 3 Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria *Correspondence Info: Ezejindu DN, Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. E-mail: ezejindudamian@gmail.com 1. Introduction The use of herbs to treat diseases is almost universal among non-industrialized societies and is often more affordable than purchasing expensive modern pharmaceuticals. The world Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Studies in the United State and Europe have shown that their use is less common in clinical settings but has become increasingly more in recent years as scientific evidence about the effectiveness of herbal medicine has become more widely available. The annual global export value of pharmaceutical plants in 2011 accounted for over US $2.2 billion 1- 3 . In India, Ayurveda medicine has used many herbs such as turmeric possibly as early as 1900 BC 4,5 . Earliest sanskrit writings such as the Rig Veda, and Atharva Veda are some of the earliest available documents detailing the medical knowledge that formed the basis of the Ayurdeda system 6 . The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplents derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists and natural products chemists are combing the earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants 7 . A number of herbs are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects 8 . Furthermore, adulteration, inappropriate formulation or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal 9 . Annona muricata is a flowering evergreen tree native to Mexico, South America and produced in some parts of Africa especially in Eastern Nigeria and in Southeast Asia 10 . Annona Muricata is widely promoted as an alternative cancer treatment. There is however no medical evidence that it is effective 11 . The Federal Trade commission in the United State determined that there was no credible scientific evidence that extract of Annona muricata sold by Bioque Technology can prevent, cure or treat cancer of any kind 12 . With the unscientific proofs on medicinal properties of Annona muricata, this scenario call for research on the histological effects of Annona muricata ethanolic leaf extract on the adrenal gland using adult wistar rats. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Breeding of Animals Twenty wistar rats were purchased from the animal house of Faculty of Pharmacy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Agulu, Anambra State. They were allowed to acclimatize in the animal house of department of Anatomy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus under normal temperature (27℃-30℃). They were fed ad-libitum with water and guinea feed pallets from Agro feed Mill Nigeria Ltd. 2.2 Drug Preparation Annona Muricata leaves were plugged from Okofia, Nnewi, Anambra State and dried in an oven at a temperature of 50℃ and crushed using laboratory blender. Extraction was done using ethanol. 200mg of this extract/kg body weight was dissolved in 10mls of distilled water and administered to the animals. Abstract This study was undertaken to evaluate the histological effects of ethanolic extract of Annona muricata on the adrenal gland of adult wistar rats. Twenty wistar rats weighing between 180 – 210g were used for the study. They were divided into four groups (A, B, C & D) of five animals each. Group A animals served as the control and received 0.3 ml of distilled water; the experimental groups B, C & D were orally administered 0.2 ml, 0.4 ml and 0.6 ml of ethanolic extract of Annona muricata respectively for twenty eight days. Immediately after the last administration, the animals were weighed, sacrificed under the influence of chloroform vapour inhalation method and dissected. Adrenal gland tissues were removed, weighed and fixed in 10% formalin for histological studies. The final body weight of groups C and D decreased significantly (P < 0.001) compared with the control. The mean relative organ weight result revealed significant increase (P<0.001) in groups C and D while B organ weight is statistically similar with the control group A. Histopathological findings showed distortion of adrenal gland tissues in groups C and D while group B was not distorted compared with the control. From these findings, Annona muricata consumed in high doses may distort cytoarchetecture of adrenal gland. Keywords: Adrenal gland, Annona muricata, Body weight, Organ weight, Cytoarchetecture