Abstract
Fructose is widely used in processed foods and beverages as a sweetener and statistics show
that there is increased intake of fructose worldwide. In most developing countries including
South Africa, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is on the rise due to adoption of western
diets that are high in sugar content particularly fructose. Although conventional medicines
like metformin are currently being used to ameliorate symptoms associated with metabolic
syndrome, some of these drugs are often associated with several side effects and the cost is
beyond the reach of many South Africans. Nowadays, natural phytotherapeutic approaches
are receiving more attention in healthcare due to their availability and their safety profile. In
South Africa, a large population rely on traditional medicines for primary healthcare. The
therapeutic efficacy of traditional medicines may be due to the presence of bioactive
phytochemicals such as oleanolic acid (OA). Most studies on therapeutic efficacy of traditional
medicines have been conducted in adult animal models and few on neonates. The current study
was therefore designed to investigate the effects of OA administered during neonatal life on
the histomorphology of the liver and kidneys of Sprague Dawley rats given high fructose later
in adult life. Seventy two (72) male and female Sprague Dawley rats were used and allocated
into two phases. In the first phase the rats were randomly allocated to three treatment groups
receiving plain drinking water (control), oleanolic acid 60mg/g and 20% fructose solution
from postnatal life of 7-14 days. The rats were weaned onto a normal diet until postnatal day
21 to 55. In the second phase (postnatal day 56 - 111) half of the rats from each group were
further given either plain drinking water or fructose solution until they were terminated on
postnatal day 112. Kidneys and liver samples were preserved in formalin until further analyses.
The current study showed that hypertrophy of hepatocytes in zone 1 (peri-portal) and zone 3
(peri-venular) with micro and macro steatosis were present in rats that received fructose in
adulthood only (late single hit) and during neonatal period and later in adulthood (double
fructose hit). In the kidneys, late single hit and double hit resulted in an increase in size of the
renal corpuscle, glomerular tuft, interstitial connective tissue area fraction and proximal and
distal tubular dilatation accompany by thinning epithelia atrophy (p<0.05). Oleanolic acid
prevented the increases in size of renal corpuscle, glomerular tuft, interstitial connective tissue
area fraction and proximal convoluted area induced by high fructose ingestion. Neonatal
administration of OA may thus be used to potentially protect against the development of
fructose-induced histomorphometric changes in the liver and the kidneys in adulthood.
M.Tech. (Biomedical Technology)