Acute toxicity studies of Myrsine africana aqueous seed extract in male Wistar rats on some hematological and biochemical parameters

• Published in: Clinical phytoscience Vol. 1; no. 1
• Main Authors: Kabubii, Zelipha N., Mbaria, James, Mathiu, Mbaabu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 20.10.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acute toxicity; Anthelmintic agents; Antiparasitic agents; Aspartate aminotransferase; Body weight; Cell size; Creatinine; Diabetes; Disease control; Erythrocytes; Gastroenterology; Gynecology; Hematology; Lethal dose; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Myrsine; Original Contribution; Parameters; Pediatrics; Platelets; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Rodents; Thrombocytes; Toxicity; Urea; Rats; Extract; Biochemical parameters; Toxicity
• ISSN: 2199-1197; 2199-1197
• DOI: 10.1186/s40816-015-0010-3

Background Natural medicinal products have gained recognition worldwide in the treatment and control of diseases. One of the major concerns as they are used is the lack of adequate pharmacological and toxicological data to support their use. Myrsine africana is traditionally used as human and veterinary anthelmintic. Methods Two groups of male Wistar rats were orally given as a single dose 1000 and 5000 mg/kg body weight of the M. africana extract respectively. Hematological and biochemical assays of each animal blood were done after 48 h and at day 14. Results No animal died in the entire study period. The median lethal dose (LD 50 ) of the seed extract was estimated to be above 5000 mg/kg body weight in Wistar rats. Red blood cells, packed cell volume and creatinine in rats fed with 5000 mg/kg body weight were found to be significantly elevated from the control at 48 h. At day 14, thrombocytes and aspartate aminotransferase were significantly elevated in the high dose group while urea level had decreased significantly in the treatment groups. Conclusions M. africana extract was found to have a high safe margin validating its wide use. However, caution should be exercised when using this extract as was indicated by the altered parameters. It is therefore recommended that lower doses than 1000 mg/kg body weight should be used for treatment.