Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Evaluation of the Acute and Sub chronic Toxicities of the Methanolic Stem Bark Extract of Spathodea campanulata (P. Beauv.) Bignoniaceae
1, 3Tanayen Julius Kihdze, 3, 7Ezeonwumelu Joseph OC, 2, 3Ajayi Abayomi Mayowa, 1, 3Oloro Joseph, 5Tanayen Grace Ghaife, 6Lonzy Ojok, 3, 4Adzu Bulus, 7Arthur van Aeschot, 7Gert Laekeman and 1Agaba Amon Ganafa
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410 Mbarara, Uganda
2Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
3Kampala International University, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research
(KIU-CAMRES) Group
4National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) PMB 21 Abuja, Nigeria
5Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Kampala International University Bushenyi, Uganda
6Department of Pharmacy, Clinical and Comparative Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
7Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, KU-Leuven Gasthuisberg 3000 Leuven, Belgium
British Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology 2016 1:9-19
Received: January 23, 2015 | Accepted: February 22, 2015 | Published: February 25, 2016
Abstract
Spathodea campanulata (P. Beauv.) Bignoniacea is widely used in Ugandan traditional medicine without having much knowledge on any toxicity data. This study carried out the toxicity profile of its methanolic stem bark extract (SCE) at both acute and sub-chronic levels. A single oral dose administration of SCE at the limit dose of study (5000 mg/kg) did not cause any observable toxic effect or mortality. However, a 90 day oral administration in Wistar rats (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg) resulted in an acceleration of bodyweight increase as indicated by the calculation of percentage bodyweight increments at the doses of study. It had no effect on the relative organ weights considered except an increase on the stomach at the 800 mg/kg dose. Among the biochemical parameters considered (ALT, AST ALP, GGT, creatinine and urea) the only significant (p<0.05) increase was observed with ALT at the 800 mg/kg level. The levels of WBC, RBC, RDW and HCT dropped significantly (p<0.05) at the 800 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg for WBC alone in the SCE-treated groups. There was however a significant elevation (p<0.05) of MCV, MCH, MCHC levels at 800 mg/kg in the treated animals compared to the control group. A histological analysis of the isolated organs (heart, testes, lungs, liver, stomach and kidneys) showed that the heart is the vulnerable organ with myocardial necrosis and hemorrhage occurring at the 400 and 800 mg/kg level following 90 days administration. Acute use of SCE is safe. Therefore, the resultant adverse effects observed on the lone liver enzyme (ALT) and the myocardial tissue at high doses following prolonged administration could be avoided if compliant use could be intermittent.
Keywords:
LD50 , Haematotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, histopathology, rat, spathodea, toxicity,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
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ISSN (Online): 2044-2467
ISSN (Print): 2044-2459 |
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