Acute and Chronic Oral Toxicity of Hydroethanolic Extract of Sclerocarya birrea (Anacardiaceae) in Wistar Rats

Abstract

Abdul Gafar Victoir Coulidiaty,1 Saamou Isaac Boni,2 Raogo Ouedraogo,1 Benjamin Kouliga Koama,2 Harouna Soré,3 Roland Nâg-Tiero Meda,2 Téné Marceline Yaméogo,4 Estelle Noëla Hoho Youl1 1Laboratoire de Développement du Médicament, Ecole Doctorale Sciences et Santé (ED2S), Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 2Laboratoire de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Santé et Biotechnologies Animales, Université Nazi Boni, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; 3Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 4Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Santé, Université Nazi BONI, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina FasoCorrespondence: Abdul Gafar Victoir Coulidiaty, Email [email protected]: Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich). Hochst, popularly known as Morula, is a plant in the Anacardiaceae family. The bark, fruits, and leaves have traditionally been used to manage a variety of health conditions, most especially diabetes. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of data and publications on the toxicity and safety of this plant.Purpose: The current study was designed to assess the acute and chronic toxicity of a hydro-ethanolic extract of Sclerocarya birrea in albino rats.Materials and Methods: Sclerocarya birrea was extracted using an 80– 20% hydro-ethanolic solution. For the acute toxicity study, female Wistar albino rats were treated with hydro-ethanolic leaf extract at a dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight and followed-up for 14 days. In the chronic toxicity study, 40 healthy Wistar albino rats were divided in 4 groups. The three treatment groups were administered the leaf hydro-ethanolic extract orally at dosages of 30, 150, and 1000 mg/kg once day for 90 days and the fourth group was a control group. Body and organs weights, haematological, serum biochemical, and histopathological parameters were measured at the end of the experiment.Results: Single-dose oral administration of hydro-ethanolic leaf extract of Sclerocarya birrea at 5000 mg/kg produced no mortality indicating the LD50 is greater than 5000 mg/kg body weight. Following 90 days of administration of a hydro-ethanolic extract of Sclerocarya birrea leaves, there was no significant change in body and organs weights. Furthermore, biochemical, haematological and histopathological parameters did not vary significantly.Conclusion: This data indicates neither acute or chronic toxicity in rats and is consistent with the widespread and long-term usage of Sclerocarya birrea in African traditional medicine.Keywords: Sclerocarya birrea, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, diabetes

Keywords

• sclerocarya birrea
• acute toxicity
• chronic toxicity
• diabetes