Abstract
Psorospermum febrifugum Spach (Clusiaceae) was a tropical plant whose root bark was used to treat anemia. This work aimed to evaluate the safety of the ethyl acetate fraction of the aqueous extract of this bark. Methods: The ethyl acetate fraction of the extract was administered to Wistar rats in a single dose of 2000 mg / Kg body weight for acute oral toxicity test or daily doses of 200 mg / Kg of body weight during 28 days for sub-chronic oral toxicity test, as recommended by the OECD. At day 0, then at day 14 for the acute phase and day 28 for the sub-chronic phase, the rats were weighed and their blood collected for tests. The activity of transaminases AST and ALT were measured in the liver function tests, blood urea and creatinine were measured for renal function tests and blood leukocytes were counted for the immune balance. These analyzes were supplemented by the histology of the liver, kidneys and spleen, an immune organ. Results: In acute and sub-chronic oral toxicity tests, rat’s weight, liver, kidney and immune balances as well as these organs histology were not affected, suggesting the safety of the extract fraction. Conclusion: The ethyl acetate fraction of the aqueous extract of the root bark of Psorospermum febrifugum did not reveal any acute or sub-chronic oral toxicity. This effect could be related to its richness in flavonoids which have cytoprotective effects. The study of biological tolerance deserves to be continued by the chronic toxicity test and appropriate clinical trials.
Highlights
Medicinal plants were used by different populations for centuries around the world to deal with health problems (Kassel, 2003)
The acute oral toxicity was assessed by measuring the physical parameter that is the weight of the rats, the liver function through the transaminases ALT and AST, renal balance through blood urea and creatinine, the immune balance by counting the blood leucocytes (Table 1)
Uremia and serum creatinine at D0 were 0.40 ± 0.11 g/L and 10 ± 2 mg/L, respectively. They did not significantly change values at day 14 suggesting a lack of renal function impairment
Summary
Medicinal plants were used by different populations for centuries around the world to deal with health problems (Kassel, 2003). The main reason was the high price of pharmaceutical drugs (Schmincke, 2003; Yakubu et al, 2009; Pingali et al, 2015). Very little is known about the effects of medicinal remedies used against various pathologies (Oduola et al, 2007). This raises the question of the safety of these substances. Side effects on different organs have been noted as a result of the consumption of traditional remedies. Renal damage has been associated with the use of the medicinal plants in the treatment of different disorders, including diabetes mellitus (Mapanga & Musabayane, 2010). WHO encouraged scientific investigations in this area to select the best ones for beneficial use
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