Abstract
BackgroundDennentia tripetalla (Pepper Fruit) belongs to the Annonaceae family and is abundant in Nigeria. Its fruit in folklore medicine is used for treatment of varying ailments. While ample research evidence exists on the plants fruit and seed, no current study exists on the toxicological profile of the plant leaves.Methodsqualitative and quantitative phytochemicals and In vitro antioxidant assays were carried out using standard methods. The acute toxicity study indicates that the LD50 was higher than 2000 mg/Kg body weight. Sub-chronic toxicity studies was carried out using five groups of rats. Group 1 served as control, 2–5 received 100 mg/Kg, 200 mg/Kg, 500 mg/Kg and 1000 mg/Kg body weight orally for 28 days.ResultsPost-administration biochemical analysis indicates there was increased weight in rats administered 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg while it reduced in the 500 mg/kg group. Significant elevations of liver function markers were reported for 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg respectively. Serum and hepatic protein profiles remained unaltered. Renal function analysis revealed elevated serum urea and creatinine for 200 and 500 mg/kg groups, elevated serum Na+ and Ca+ and reduced serum Cl− for the 500 mg/Kg group. Elevated Kidney K+ and Ca+ levels, reduced Cl− were significantly observed in 500 mg/Kg group. Significant rise in hepatic and renal lipid peroxidation was observed in 200 and 500 mg/Kg groups. There were observed disarmament of the antioxidant defense systems occasioned by rise and drop in tissue (hepatic, renal, testes, heart) Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (Cat), Glutathione-s-transferase (GST), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in the test groups relative to control. Histopathological examination indicated architectural aberrations at 500 and 1000 mg/kg.ConclusionsIt concluded that the plant had significant phytochemical and antioxidant properties of medical interest and possessed toxic properties in rats when administered at a dose above 200 mg/Kg over a prolonged period of time.
Highlights
Plants have been identified as a major contributor to the sustenance of good health their uses have been widely reported [1, 2]
Dennettia tripetala (Pepper Fruit) is a plant that belongs to the Annonaceae family
The 16 rats shared into four groups of four animals each were subjected to acute toxicity test at a single dose of 500 mg/Kg body weight, 1000 mg/Kg body weight, 1500 mg/Kg body weight and 2000 mg/Kg body weight and monitored for 48 h
Summary
This further brings to fore earlier suggestions [18] that certain plant substances may hold beneficial properties, when administered in the right dose Studied in this investigation is the antioxidant response mechanisms to a prolonged administration of varied doses of methanol extract of Dennetia tripetalla which showed rise in MDA (Fig. 6) at doses of the 200 mg/Kg and 500 mg/Kg in the liver and kidney while heart tissues were only elevated in the 500 mg/Kg group. Observed rise in these enzymes may have occurred in response to immunity boost of the animals or may have been as a result of the need to rise against the toxic effects of the plants in the animals These claims and submissions are in agreement with [39] which reported increased hepatic and renal SOD and catalase in rats administered Dennettia tripetala fruit aqueous and ethanol extracts. Plant extract may cause liver toxicity is unknown, it is believed that the liver tissue is prone to drug induced toxicity due to its high capacity in metabolism and the presence of xenobiotics in the liver [64]
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