Abstract
BackgroundConsumption of medicinal plants has diverse therapeutic benefits and could also have toxic effect. Justicia carnea is a medicinal plant that is used conventionally as blood tonic from time immemorial in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety of ethanol extract of J. carnea leaf assessing the hematology indices, organ antioxidant system and histology in healthy male wistar rats.MethodsPowdered sample was extracted using absolute ethanol and concentrated to obtain a slurry paste of J. carnea ethanol extracts. Acute toxicity was determined in two phases using Lorke method. In subacute study, rats were randomized into six groups of five rats per group: Group 1 (control) received distilled water, group 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 received 50, 100, 500, 800 and 1200 mg/kg body weight of J. carnea ethanol extract once daily using oral gavage. At the end of 14th day of administration, rats were allowed to fast overnight, sacrificed to collect samples for biochemical analysis and histopathological examination.ResultsThe LD50 of extract was greater than 5000 mg/kg body weight. Higher doses (> 500 mg/kg) of extract significantly (p < 0.05) increased RBC, hemoglobin and platelet compared to the control. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was significantly (p < 0.05) increased at 1200 mg/kg while other tested doses caused no detrimental effect on glutathione, catalase, SOD and malondialdehyde level in liver and kidney. Histopathological examination of liver and kidney showed mild to severe pathological lesion in a dose dependent manner.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggests that ethanol extract of J. carnea leaf is relatively safe, could be beneficial in alleviating hematology related abnormalities without causing adverse effects on endogenous antioxidant system. However, caution should be taken as higher dose at 1200 mg/kg could cause noticeable tissue injury.
Highlights
Consumption of medicinal plants has diverse therapeutic benefits and could have toxic effect
In recent time, copious attention has been focused on the use of medicinal plants in the management and treatment of ailments such as anemia, diabetes and malaria
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of J. carnea leaf extract on hematology indices and organ antioxidant system in healthy wistar rats
Summary
Consumption of medicinal plants has diverse therapeutic benefits and could have toxic effect. Justicia carnea is a medicinal plant that is used conventionally as blood tonic from time immemorial in Nigeria. Copious attention has been focused on the use of medicinal plants in the management and treatment of ailments such as anemia, diabetes and malaria. Due to the local availability, easy access and relatively low cost, medicinal plants are gaining attentions in health care programmes. Consumption of medicinal plants without scrutinizing its efficacy and safety can result in unexpected toxic effects resulting in physiology changes of different organs in the body. Hepatic and renal damage has been recently linked with the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases [5, 6]
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