Histopathological Effect of Arsenic in Drinking Water on Liver and Kidney of Albino Rat: A Light Microscopic Study

Background and aim: Arsenic is a common pollutant of water in developing counties, leads to major health problems, and affects all body organs. The current study aimed to evaluate the histopathological effects of arsenic on the liver and kidney of albino rats.
Materials and methods: A total of 18 Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 6). The control group received only distilled water, ARS 50 Group received 50ppm of arsenic in drinking water as a daily oral dose for 4 weeks, and ARS 100 group received 100ppm of arsenic in drinking water as a daily oral dose, each day for 4 weeks. After experimentation, the rats were euthanized and tissues procured, treated, slides were prepared, and observational analysis was done.
Results: The liver of rats exposed to low dose showed mild central venous dilatation and congestion, portal haemorrhage, and dilated portal vein. However, the liver of rats exposed to higher doses revealed distortion of tissue architecture, haemorrhage, necrosis, vacuolated cytoplasm, mononuclear infiltrate. These changes were more pronounced in the high dose group, and rats in the control group showed normal tissue architecture. The kidneys of rats exposed to arsenic revealed disrupted architecture, increased or decreased periglomerular space, eosinophilic casts, and mononuclear infiltrate in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control group, which revealed normal renal function architecture.
Conclusion: According to the research results, even smaller doses of 50ppm of arsenic potentially induce pathological effects on the liver and kidney. Hence, the amount of arsenic should be checked in drinking water.