Protective effects of Moringa oleifera against Dexamethasone-induced multi-organ injury in mice: Histopathological study

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Introduction: The potent synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) is used widely in clinical practice, but has a high level of multi-organ toxicity, partially through oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways. Moringa oleifera (MO), a medicinal plant, is rich in bioactive compounds having established antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Methods: Twenty-one male albino mice were randomly divided into three groups of seven mice per group, namely control group (21 days received distilled water), DEX group (1 mg/kg intramuscular injection for 21 days) and DEX+MO group (1 mg/kg intramuscular injection and 50 mg/kg MO aqueous leaf extract orally for 21 days). Histopathological examination of liver, kidney and heart tissues was done using haematoxylin and eosin staining. The semi-quantitative scoring system (0–3) for degeneration, necrosis, inflammation, congestion, and architectural disruption was used to assess tissue injury. Results: There was significant histopathological damage in all organs of the body that were examined, as indicated by the mean injury score of 2.43±0.53 for liver, 2.57±0.53 for kidney and 2.71±0.49 for heart following DEX treatment. These changes were significantly reduced by co-administration of MO, with scores of 1.14±0.38 (liver), 1.29±0.49 (kidney) and 1.29±0.49 (heart) (p<0.001 for all comparisons). MO therapy improved near-normal tissue architecture and decreased tissue degeneration, necrosis and inflammatory infiltration. Conclusion: The Moringa oleifera aqueous leaf extract showed a remarkable protective effect against DEX-induced multi-organ injury in mice. These results suggest that MO may be a natural adjunctive agent to reduce the tissue toxicity induced by GC, probably due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.