Histopathological study of the effects of Decalobanthus mammosus extract on liver necrosis in a tuberculosis mouse model

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem, and hepatotoxicity associated with anti-TB therapy may complicate treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Decalobanthus mammosus tuber extract on liver histopathology in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected mouse model. A post-test-only control group design was used involving 30 male Swiss albino mice allocated to five groups (n = 6 per group): a negative control group (K−; healthy, uninfected mice), an infected control group (K+; M. tuberculosis-infected mice without extract), and three treatment groups receiving D. mammosus extract at 200 mg/kg BW (P1), 400 mg/kg BW (P2), or 800 mg/kg BW (P3). Infection was induced intratracheally, followed by oral isoniazid therapy. Liver injury was assessed based on the mean number of necrotic cells across five microscopic fields per mouse and the ordinal Manja Roenigk score. The revised analysis treated the individual mouse as the experimental unit, used the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s post hoc test for the ordinal score, and applied negative binomial regression to necrotic-cell counts. The observed mean necrotic-cell counts were 1.4 ± 0.2 in K−, 8.7 ± 0.3 in K+, 1.2 ± 0.1 in P1, 6.4 ± 0.9 in P2, and 13.5 ± 1.2 in P3. Histopathological findings showed relatively preserved hepatic architecture in P1 and more extensive injury in P3. These findings indicate a non-linear tissue response to D. mammosus extract; however, inferential p-values and effect estimates should be inserted after reanalysis of the individual-mouse data using the specified statistical models.