Investigating the effect of Centella Asiatica on placenta and pregnancy outcome in rat experimental model

Plant research and use for purposes other than food has been available for thousands of years.Such use includes the treatment of diseases and illnesses as well as for dermatological purposes.Traditionally, several specific ailments have been cured with different parts of medicinal plants.Centella Asiatica is widely known as 'Gotu kola' in Nigeria and is growing in the riverine areas of Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta State.The leaves of C. Asiatica have been reported to possess several medicinal properties.This has resulted in its wide acceptance among several populations.This study investigated the effect of ethanolic leaf extract of C. Asiatica on pregnancy outcome and placenta.Forty-eight female Wistar rats with regular estrous were employed in this study.They were mated and confirmed pregnant before administration of the extract.They were divided into two groups that received treatment from GD7-13 and GD14-20.The subgroups received 250mg, 500mg, and 1000mg/kg body weight of the extract respectively while the control received 1ml of distilled water.50% of the animals were sacrificed at GD20 while the others were left to litter.After sacrifice, the uterine horns containing the fetuses were harvested and examined for gross morphological variations.The fetal and placental weights were recorded for statistical analysis.The excised placenta was fixed in formal saline and taken through histological processing.Data obtained was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and compared with ANOVA.There were no gross morphological variations in pups of treated dams, however, there was a dosedependent decrease in the fetal weights indicative of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).The histology of the placenta junctional zone showed a dose-dependent reduction in the amount of glycogen cell islands while the labyrinth zone showed congestion of the maternal sinusoids.