Protective Effects of Fraction F3 from Desmodium velutinum Leaves on Histopathological Alterations in Rat Vital Organs

Résumé

Medicinal plants constitute an important source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and organ-protective properties and continue to play a central role in traditional medicine. This study investigated the protective effects of fraction F3 isolated from the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Desmodium velutinum against experimentally induced cardiac, hepatic, and renal injuries in rat. Fraction F3 was selected for the present study because it exhibited the highest pharmacological activity among all the fractions obtained during the bio-guided fractionation of the hydroethanolic extract of Desmodium velutinum leaves. Based on these preliminary findings, F3 was considered the most promising fraction for further investigation. The hydroethanolic extract of D. velutinum leaves underwent bio-guided fractionation. The daily administration of paracetamol (500 mg/kg, per os), gentamicin (80 mg/kg, i.p.), and ethanol (30%, per os): induced marked histopathological alterations, including cardiac congestion, periportal hepatic necrosis, renal tubular atrophy, vascular congestion, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Ethanol-induced lesions were the most severe, followed by paracetamol- and gentamicin-induced injuries. However, rats treated with paracetamol (500 mg/kg) combined with fraction F3 (25 and 50 mg/kg), gentamicin (80 mg/kg) combined with fraction F3 (25 and 50 mg/kg), and ethanol (30 %) combined with fraction F3 (25 and 50 mg/kg) showed a total improvement in vital organs, indicating a reversible effect. This fraction appears to protect vital organs from the toxicity induced by paracetamol, gentamicin, and ethanol. Fraction F3 was characterized by high levels of polyphenols and flavonoids and exhibited strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity.

Keywords: Protective effects, vital organs, Desmodium velutinum, fraction, rats.