Histomorphological and morphometric studies of the pancreatic islet cells of diabetic rats treated with extracts of Annona muricata.

Microanatomical changes in the pancreatic islet cells of streptozotocin induced diabetic Wistar rats were studied after treatment with methanolic extracts of Annona muricata leaves. Thirty adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned into three groups (control, untreated diabetic group, and A. muricata-treated diabetic group) of ten rats each. Diabetes mellitus was experimentally induced in groups B and C by a single intra-peritoneal injection of 80 mg/kg streptozotocin dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer. The control rats were intraperitoneally injected with an equivalent volume of citrate buffer. Daily intra peritoneal injections of 100 mg/kg A. muricata were administered to group C rats for two weeks. Post sacrifice the pancreases of the rats were excised and fixed in Bouin's fluid. The tissues were processed for paraffin embedding and sections of 5 mum thickness were produced and stained with H & E, Gomori aldehyde fuchsin, and chrome alum haematoxylin-phloxine for demonstration of the beta-cells of islets of pancreatic islets. Histomorphological and morphometric examination of the stained pancreatic sections showed a significant increase in the number, diameter, and volume of the beta-cells of pancreatic islets of the A. muricata-treated group (5.67 +/- 0.184 N/1000 mum(2), 5.38 +/- 0.093 mum and 85.12 +/- 4.24 mum(3), respectively) when compared to that of the untreated diabetic group of rats (2.85 +/- 0.361 N/1000 mum(2), 2.85 +/- 0.362 mum and 69.56 +/- 5.216 mum(3), respectively). The results revealed regeneration of the beta-cells of islets of pancreatic islet of rats treated with extract of A. muricata.