Effect of Eucalyptus deglupta leaf extract on yolk lipid peroxidation and liver histology in duck embryos

Abstract

Lipid peroxidation is a type of oxidative damage wherein free radicals attack lipids and cause rearrangement of bonds, leading to membrane impairment. This study was conducted in order to determine the effect of Eucalyptus deglupta aqueous leaf extracts in duck (Anas platyrhynchos) yolk lipid peroxidation and liver histology. From an infusion of five grams of E. deglupta leaves in one liter of water, varying concentrations of 0% (for the controls), 0.01%, 0.1 % and 1% were administered to four test groups of 8-day-old duck (Anas platyrhynchos) embryos. At 13 days of age, embryos were tested for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in the yolk, while the livers were excised for histological processing. Results showed that the 0.1% and 1 % leaf extract concentrations reduced lipid peroxidation in the yolk of duck eggs when compared to those treated with 0% and 0.01% infusions. However, while the hepatocytes in all test embryos were intact, all liver samples featured similar extent of departure from normal liver tissue morphology. These findings suggest that the lipid peroxide lowering effect of the E. deglupta extracts was somehow insufficient to counter histological influences of extraneous stressors possibly from transport and handling of the duck eggs during experimentation. The findings have implications for the potential use of E. deglupta as an herbal supplement and for further studies on the effects of its particular components using other organs or animal models.