ABSTRACT
Manihot esculenta Crantz leaves have been used against many disorders, such as rheumatism, fever, headache,
diarrhea, and loss of appetite. Cassava leaves reportedly also possess anti-hemorrhoid, anti-inflammatory, and
antimicrobial activity. The aim is to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of Manihot esculenta and piroxicam
co-administration for induced gastro-toxicity in male wistar rats and thus determine histo-morphologic changes in
the stomach due to piroxicam-mediated toxicity. The leaves of Manihot esculenta leaves were collected and dried
for two weeks at room temperature and size reduced with a mortar and pestle. It was extracted by cold maceration
using water. The lethal dose was done using Lorke's method and at 4000mg/kg body weight, no mortality occurred.
The rats in this experiment were divided into four groups of five rats each. The first group received normal saline
with food and water ad libidum, the second group received a low dose of extract (500mg/kg) and 20mg of
piroxicam. The third group received a higher dose of extract (1000mg/kg) and 20mg of piroxicam while the last
group received only 20mg of piroxicam. The experiment was carried out for seven days after which the animals
were sacrificed on the eight day to extract their stomach and histological slides and analysis were made. At the end
of the seven week, the rats were sacrificed and histological slides were made. The histological slides made shows
that histology of the stomach of the rats in the first group had no alteration. The second group showed mild alteration
and thinning of the mucousa linning and moderate healing. The third group showed moderate alteration of the
submucosal linning and moderate healing due to the extract. The fourth group showed shows severe effect with
severe area of inflammation growing within the muscularis mucosa of the stomach and moderate dilation with loss
within the submucosa. Groups two and three showed gastroprotective effect due to the moderate healings exhibited.
At the end, it was shown that manihot esculenta crantz leaves contains constituents which exhibit gastroprotective
effects as well as anti-inflammatory properties.