Antivenom activity of Moringa oleifera leave against pathophysiological alterations, somatic mutation and biological activities of Naja nigricollis venom

Abstract

Moringa oleifera is a plant that has several medicinal properties, however, there are dearth of scientific information on the antivenom activities. This study therefore focused on the neutralizing activities of ethanol leaves extract of M. oleifera against Naja nigricollis venom toxicity in rats. For the in vivo study, forty male Albino wistar rats weighing between 180 and 195 g were randomly divided into eight groups of five rats each. Group 1 were injected with normal saline. Groups 2–7 were envenomed by a single intraperitoneal injection of 1.0 mg/kg (LD50) of the venom while groups 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 were treated with 100, 200, 300, 400 mg/kg of the extract and 0.2 ml of EchiTAB PLUS-ICP polyvalent antivenom, respectively. Group 7 was not treated post envenomation and group 8 was administered with plant extract only. Treatment with M. oleifera reversed acute anemia, significantly decreased (P<0.05) plasma levels of the liver enzymes compared to the untreated group. There was significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in the treated groups compared to the normal control. There was a dose dependent inhibition of the hemorrhage and hemolysis induced by the venom in the groups treated with extract. The clotting time was prolonged in groups treated with extract and antivenom compared to the untreated group. Also, the antibodies (IgG) titre was significantly higher (p < 0.5) in untreated group compared to other treated groups. The results obtained in this study indicated that M. oleifera possesses potent antivenom properties and emphasized its potential use for the treatment of snakebites.