Acute Toxicity and Effect of Aqueous Extract of Moringa oleifera Leaves on Organs and Tissues in Rats
Keywords:
Moringa oleifera, aqueous extract, rats, histopathologyAbstract
This research is conducted on the aqueous leaf extract to evaluate the acute toxicity and the prolonged effect of extract administration on organs and tissues of rats. The revised limit dose test of Up and Down procedure was used to determine the acute oral toxicity of the plant. The administration of the extract to rats at 5000 mg/kg body weight did not produce death at 24 hours. For sub acute toxicity, graded oral doses of 100, 200, 300 and 400 mg/kg body weight of the extract were administered daily for 21 days to rats in the treatment groups (5 rats per group) there was no extract administration to the rats in the control group. At the end of treatment, standard procedures were used to euthanize the rats and were examined both grossly and histopathologically. Extract administration for 21 days at various doses did not result in death of the rats; however, histological lesions occurred in the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and intestine. It is concluded that the extract had a wide safety margin while the histopathological lesions found in the various organs suggested that the extract should be administered with caution when used for prolonged period.
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