Acute toxicity profile and gastroprotective potential of ethanolic leaf extract of Manihot esculenta Crantz

Abstract

The leaves of Manihot esculenta Crantz are used widely in traditional medicine to treat gastric ulcers. However, the safety and ethnopharmacological use of the plant as an anti-ulcer agent has not been validated in experimental studies. The study investigated the toxicity profile and anti-ulcer properties of ethanolic leaf extract of Manihot esculenta (MELE) in rats. A high dose of MELE (2000 mg/kg, p.o.) did not cause death in any of the rats. Moreover, no behavioural, haematological, or biochemical abnormalities could be attributed to the extract. The administration of acidified alcohol reduced rats’ luminal pH from 4.47 ± 1.39 (naïve control) to 1.95 ± 0.31 in the negative control rats. However, pre-treatment of rats with MELE (30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, p.o.) or omeprazole (10 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly (p < 0.05) elevated the luminal pH to 2.24 ± 0.19, 3.21 ± 0.18, 3.12 ± 0.40 and 2.63 ± 0.10 respectively. MELE (100 and 300 mg/kg) and omeprazole (10 mg/kg) caused a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in rats’ gastric ulceration with percentage inhibition of 71.05, 76.31 and 78.94% respectively. The extensive ulceration and erosion of the stomachs of rats in the negative control group were reversed by treatment with various doses of the extract and omeprazole. Elevated Ki67 immunoreactivity in the negative control group was also reduced by the MELE (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) and the standard reference drug, omeprazole (10 mg/kg). The present study suggests that MELE produced no observed adverse effects and offered protection against acidified ethanol-induced gastric ulceration. Further studies should aim at isolating the active compounds responsible for the anti-ulcer effect as well as their possible mechanisms of action.

Keywords

• Manihot esculenta
• Acidified-ethanol induced ulcer
• Anti-ulcer
• Ki67
• Acute toxicity study