Abstract
Bidens pilosa is used empirically for the treatment of various illnesses among which are: jaundice, conjunctivitis, cataract, malaria, ulcers and hypertension. This study is aimed at evaluating the sub-chronic toxicity of the leaf aqueous extracts of B. pilosa. The effects of the administration of the aqueous extracts of B. pilosa on physical (body weight, relative weight of organs), biochemical and histological parameters were studied in male and female albino Wistar rats. Daily doses of extract (100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) and distilled water were administered orally for 4 weeks; during which signs of toxicity were checked. At the end of the experiments, the rats were sacrificed, their blood and organs collected for biochemical, histological and haematological analyses. No death was recorded. At the end of the treatment, there were no significant (P>0.05) variations of the body weight gain and the relative weights of detoxification organs (liver and kidney). The analysis of biochemical parameters showed a significant (p<0.001) variation of serum levels of ALT and creatinin. Histological analysis of liver and kidney, revealed no modification. The analysis of haematological parameters showed no significant difference between males and females, overall. However, when considering each sex in particular, it was observed that in males red blood cell distribution width-coefficient variation (RDWcv) significantly increased at the doses of 500 mg/kg (P=0.02) and 1000 mg/kg (P=0.04) (vs. control). Unlike in males, white blood cells (WBC) in females decreased significantly at 500 (P=0.01) and 1000 mg/kg (P=0.01) (vs. control). It can be concluded that Bidenspilosa has a relatively low toxic effects in both sexes, with some gender differences in the haematological results. Key words: Bidenspilosa, Asteraceae, sub-chronic toxicity, rat.
Highlights
Bidens pilosa is an Asteraceae, a family of plants with high importance contributing to medicinal species worldwide
It is very important to evaluate the safety margin of the plant, it is popularly used in Africa in its aqueous form; which is the most widely studied from the literature review
No death or considerable change of behaviour was noted in treated rats as compared to the control
Summary
Bidens pilosa is an Asteraceae, a family of plants with high importance contributing to medicinal species worldwide. Difficult access to conventional drugs in low/middle income countries, like Cameroon, favours the use of medicinal plants for the management of cardiovascular diseases and oxidative stress and B. pilosa has been extensively studied for those properties (Dimo et al, 1999, 2002; Chiang et al, 2004). There are some variations in the level of activity of the different species of Bidens, the general properties appear similar (Brandao et al, 1997; AndradeNeto et al, 2004) These variations can be accounted for by the fact that, B. pilosa leaf aqueous extract contains different active principles responsible for it effects, as demonstrated by some researchers (Brandao et al, 2004; Chiang et al, 2004; Ezeonwumelu et al, 2011). This study aimed to evaluate the sub-chronic toxicity and important haematological, histological and biochemical effects of aqueous extract of B. pilosa in male and female rats
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