Pathological evaluation of Ampelopteris prolifera fern feeding in guinea pigs

The study was undertaken to evaluate the toxic effects of Ampelopteris prolifera fern feeding in concentrate ration mixture @ 15% and 30% level in terms of pathological alterations in lungs, liver, kidneys and urinary bladder of guinea pigs. Eighteen guinea pigs were divided into 3 groups with 6 animals in each, viz. group-A (control), group- B (T-I @15% w/w fern feeding) and C (T-II @30% w/w fern feeding). On post-mortem examination, congestion and haemorrhages of the lungs and liver, haemorrhagic and necrotic spots on the surface of kidneys and distention of urinary bladder were evidenced. The alterations were more pronounced in T-II group at 30^th day than control, T-I and T-II group at 15^th day of the experiment. Histopathologically, changes were engorgement of blood vessels and haemorrhage with the presence of degeneration and necrosis. There were emphysema and atelectesis in the lungs, fatty changes in the liver, massive hyaline changes in kidneys. It was concluded that Ampelopteris prolifera fern was mild to moderately toxic at 15% and 30% levels for guinea pigs, respectively.