Haematological and biochemical evaluation of the n-hexane extract of Ricinus communis var. minor (RICOM-1013-J) in adult Sprague-Dawley albino rats

Abstract

The study undertook to evaluate the sub-chronic toxicological profile of the seed of Ricinus communis var. minor (RICOM-1013-J), widely used as anticonceptive agent among Bassa people of Plateau State, Nigeria, on haematological and biochemical parameters in adult rats. Thirty-six (36) adult female rats were divided into four groups of 9 rats each, and allowed to acclimatize for 1 week. Group 1 rats served as control and were administered 0.12 ml/Kg vegetable oil subcutaneously. The other rats housed as groups 2, 3 and 4 were treated with 5, 20 and 30 mg/Kg of the extract of RICOM-1013-J as single dose, respectively. Another set of thirty-six (36) adult female rats, also divided into four groups of 9, were similarly treated. 3 rats from each group and from both sets were anaesthetized with 60 mg/Kg phenobarbitone intraperitoneally, and blood samples obtained from the femoral vein for the determination of haematological and biochemical parameters on days 7, 42 and 56 post-treatment. There was no statistically significant difference in haematological parameters between the experimental and control groups in the study. Similarly, although RICOM-1013-J caused general increase in mean levels of the biochemical parameter in treated rats relative to controls, there was also no statistically significant adverse effect on both liver and renal function tests. The study concludes that RICOM-1013-J may have no adverse effect on both haematological and biochemical parameters in rats, and presents a potentially significant breakthrough in family planning technology.

Keywords: Ricinus communis; RICOM-1013-J; antifertility; haematological parameters; biochemical indices; safety