Hormonal and Histomorphologic Effects of Azadirachta indica leaf Extract on the Pars Anterior of Wistar Rats

azadirachta indica is a tree whose medicinal value is unquantifiable. any part of the tree can be used in the treatment of malarial infection. reports have indicated its antifertility effects, and this necessitated this study on the effects of the methanol leaf extract on serum luteinizing (lh) and follicle stimulating hormones (fsh) levels and the histomorphology of the pars anterior of wistar rats. thirty adult male wistar rats were equally divided into 3 groups of a, b and c. group a was the control and the animals received distilled water orally, while groups b and c were treated with 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg respectively of the leaf extract by oral gavage for fourteen days. on day fifteen, the animals were sacrificed by chloroform anaesthesia. blood was obtained from their hearts, while the skull was opened to assess the hypophysis. hormonal assay showed that luteinizing (lh) and follicle stimulating (fsh) hormone levels in the serum were lower in groups b and c treated with 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg respectively of the leaf extract, while that of lh were significant (p<0.001). histomorphologic sections of the pars anterior revealed reduced acidophil and basophil populations, with prominent degranulated chromophobes which were larger in the group treated with 400mg/kg of a. indica leaf extract. this group also presented hypertrophy of the basophils compared to the control. in conclusion, methanol leaf extract of a. indica decreases serum lh and fsh and caused histomorphologic changes in the pars anterior of adult male wistar rats.