Histopathological evaluation of selected organs of rabbit bucks exposed to dietary di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate
Author(s): Bukola Ezekiel Olatundun, Jacob Taiwo Ogunlade and Olatunji Abubakar Jimoh
Abstract: This study used 45 crossbred rabbit bucks that had not yet reached puberty with an average weight of 1.37±0.24 kg to investigate the impact of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on certain internal organs of the rabbits that were divided into 5 different groups for their diets: T1 (control), T2, T3, T4, and T5. DEHP was added to the diets at different levels: 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 ppm for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. There were 9 replicates for each treatment, with 1 rabbit assigned to each replicate, following a randomized design. After the 75-day feeding trial, histopathological evaluation was performed on 3 randomly chosen rabbits from each treatment. The rabbits were deprived of feed for a whole night and their live weights were taken. They were stunned, slaughtered and drained of blood before skinning. The liver, kidney, spleen, testis, and ileum were carefully extracted. Specific portions of these organs were sampled and immersed in 10% formalin fixative for 24 hours. After fixing, the tissue samples underwent histopathological procedures. The findings show that there was no noticeable liver damage in rabbits on T1 and T2. In T3, 50% of the rabbits experienced mild congestion in liver central veins. Meanwhile, the other 50% had moderate congestion in their portal and central veins, with severe degeneration of liver cells. Half of the bucks' livers in T4 displayed slight widespread swelling and degeneration of liver cells, while the other half showed a moderate blockage in the livers’ portal system. At T5, it was noted that all rabbits had moderate to severe infiltration of cells around the liver portal area. Furthermore, there were no notable abnormalities found in the kidneys of the rabbits on T1. Rabbits on T2 had a mild to moderate congestion in the interstitial region of their kidneys. In T3, 50% of the rabbits experienced a slight blockage in the renal cortex, while the other 50% showed protein buildup in their renal tubules. Histological evaluation showed that bucks on T4 had kidneys that exhibited widespread degeneration of glomeruli and tubular epithelial cells. However, kidneys of all bucks on T5 experienced interstitial congestion of mild to moderate extent. Meanwhile, the bucks did not show any major abnormal conditions in their spleen, testis, and ileum. The findings indicate that the livers and kidneys of male rabbits are more vulnerable to the harmful impacts of DEHP in their diet.
