Abstract
Introduction: The essential oils of Xylopia aethiopica fruits have been reported to possess numerous biochemical effects. However, no toxicological data is available regarding the safety evaluation of the essential oils from the plant spice. The present study was performed to evaluate the safety of essential oils from X. aethiopica (XAEO) fruit by acute and sub-acute oral toxicity studies in experimental rodents.
 Methods: In assessing the safety of XAEO, acute and sub-acute oral toxicity tests were performed following OECD guidelines 425 and 407, respectively, with slight modifications. At the end of each test, hematological and biochemical analysis of the collected blood was performed. Histopathological examination of vital organs of the animals was conducted for gross findings and for comparison to controls.
 Results: In acute oral toxicity, signs of toxicity were observed in the initial period of the experiment which culminated in the death of the mice before the end of the experiment. The sub-acute test observations indicated that generally, there were no significant differences (p<0.05) up to the high dose level compared to the controls.
 Conclusion: This study demonstrated the tolerability of XAEO administered daily for 28 days up to 450 mg/kg dose.
Highlights
The essential oils of Xylopia aethiopica fruits have been reported to possess numerous biochemical effects
The major findings from this research study can be summarised as follows: (a) LD50 of the essential oils of X. aethiopica was below 2000 mg/kg bodyweight; (b) the results of the subacute toxicity study showed no sign of toxicity at our tested doses, as shown in the biochemical and haematological parameters assayed; and (c) histological examination of target organs such as brain, heart, kidney, liver and spleen revealed no remarkable changes
Several previous studies on the chemical profile of the essential oils of X. aethiopica reported in Nigeria and within the West Africa sub-region show that the oils contain more than 70 different chemical compounds which can be divided into four chemical classes: monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, oxygenated sesquiterpenes, and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons 6,7,10,21–24
Summary
The essential oils of Xylopia aethiopica fruits have been reported to possess numerous biochemical effects. The present study was performed to evaluate the safety of essential oils from X. aethiopica (XAEO) fruit by acute and sub-acute oral toxicity studies in experimental rodents. Despite the reported numerous biochemical effects of the essential oils of X. aethiopica fruit, no toxicological data is available regarding the safety evaluation of the essential oils from the plant spice. Given these circumstances, the present study was designed to augment to the research in the literature on essential oils of X. aethiopica fruit with the following objectives: 1. The present study was designed to augment to the research in the literature on essential oils of X. aethiopica fruit with the following objectives: 1. To extract the essential oils from the X. aethiopica fruit
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