Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Profile of Euphorbia pulcherrima Methanol Extract on Wistar Albino Rats

H B Sharif,M D Mukhtar,A O Lawal,Gabi Baba,Y Mustapha

doi:10.1155/2015/539646

H B Sharif, M D Mukhtar + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/539646

Copy DOI

Abstract

This work was designed to evaluate the acute and subchronic toxicity of E. pulcherrima methanol extract. Mean lethal dose (LD50) and subchronic toxicity were determined using Lorke’s method to assess the effect of the extract on kidney and liver functions along histopathology assessment of the liver and kidney, respectively. The LD50 determined was 3807.89 mg/kg both orally and intraperitoneally. The kidney function parameters indicated elevation of the serum urea above the normal value in both control and the group treated with 10 mg/kg of the extract with mean values of 7.92 ± 1.19 and 7.86 ± 1.14 mMol/L, respectively. The creatinine and electrolytes were within the normal values. The results of ALAT, ASAT, ALP, T protein albumin, and bilirubin in all cases were within the normal values. Kidney, liver function parameters, and relative organ weight were statistically insignificant across all groups. This shows that various concentrations of E. pulcherrima extract did not influence negatively the liver and kidney function parameters. Further studies are required to rule out the observed mild hepatic histological changes among a few members of the groups treated with 100 and 1000 mg/kg/day and any possible hepatoprotective and nephron-protective potential the extract may possess.

Highlights

The usage of medicinal plants to treat ailments in traditional medicine is not always a reliable guarantee in terms of safety since it is difficult for the traditional practitioners to detect or monitor delayed effects, rare adverse effects, and adverse effects such as mutagenicity, arising from long-term administration
The result of the kidney function parameters test indicated elevation of the serum urea level above the normal reference value in both the control group and the group treated with 10 mg/kg of the extract with mean values 7.92 ± 1.19 and 7.86 ± 1.14 mMol/L (Table 2)
This study suggests a further assessment of the nephron-protective potential of E. pulcherrima as indicated by the kidney histopathology result, which showed that the rats in control group and rats treated with doses 10 and 100 mg/kg/day showed a similar pattern with majority of group members showing mild renal tubular dilation (MRTD) (Figures 7(a) and 7(b)) while others showed normal histology (Figure 6)

Summary

Introduction

The usage of medicinal plants to treat ailments in traditional medicine is not always a reliable guarantee in terms of safety since it is difficult for the traditional practitioners to detect or monitor delayed effects, rare adverse effects, and adverse effects such as mutagenicity, arising from long-term administration. Investigations into toxicity of medicinal plants have been carried out [2,3,4] and are ongoing as verse group of medicinal plants need to be explored studied. Plants are one of the most important sources of medicine [5]. Plant derived compounds (phytochemicals) have been attracting much interests as natural alternatives to synthetic compounds. Extracts of plants are used for the treatment of various diseases which forms the basis for all traditional systems of medicine [5]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion