Abstract
The ethanolic fruit extract of Picralima nitida (Stapf) which proved to be a potent spasmogen in vitro was tested in pregnant female Sprague Dawley rats. Fifteen successfully mated female rats were divided into three groups of five animals each. Groups 1 and 2 received intraperitoneal injection of 50 and 500 mg/kg body weight of the extract dissolved in distilled water, respectively, on days 15 and 16 of gestation. Rats in group 3 were given equivalent volumes of distilled water and served as negative control. On the 20th day of gestation, the following parameters: percentage of pregnant females per group (PPF), mean live foetal number (LFN), mean corpus luteum number (CLN), mean resorbed embryo number per pregnant female (REN) and mean day 20 foetal crown-rump lengths (FCRL), were evaluated and fertility index calculated. The extract at 50 mg/kg body weight did not cause any obvious abortion in the treated animals. However, the extract at 50 mg/kg body weight, when compared to the control, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the mean FCRL and the fertility index, respectively. On the other hand, the extract at 500 mg/kg body weight caused mortality in all the treated pregnant animals. The histopathology revealed necrosis of the kidney cells. From the study, it was concluded that this extract did not cause any obvious abortion, rather it caused mortality in all the treated pregnant rats.
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