Effects of Aqueous Extract of Citrullus lanatus on the Histology of the Kidney of Adult Wistar Rats

Citrullus lanatus (Watermelon) belongs to the family of cucurbitaceae. The Citrullus lanatus ancestor is the bitter-fruit form of C. vulgaris Schrader. The animals were housed in a cross-ventilated room and were fed with rat pellets and water. Weight of animals were recorded, they were randomly divided into 4 groups of 5 rats per group. The Citrullus lanatus aqueous extract was administered as follows: Group A: 1.5ml/kg, Group B: 3ml/kg, Group C: 6ml/kg and Group O: Control (Water). The aqueous extract of Citrullus lanatus was given once a day to the animals for 27 days. The results revealed that aqueous extract of Citrullus lanatus on the histology of the kidney in all the groups were normal when compared with the control group. Group B (3ml/kg) showed significant (p?0.0001) difference in weight gain when compared with the control The evaluation of the possible effects of Citrullus lanatus on the kidney did not record any histological distortion of the kidney using H and E stain. However it is recommended that more research on this area should be carried out using Electron microscope, where the organelles of the cell can be studied in details. Key word: Watermelon Histology Fruit Histopathology Distortion