Toxicity Assessment of the Crude Ethanolic Pod Extract of Swartzia madagascariensis Desv. in Rats

Abstract

This study assessed toxicity of the crude ethanolic pod extracts of Swartzia madagascariensis Desv in Wistar rats. Forty (40) Wistar rats aged 8–10 weeks were orally administered with crude extracts from pods of S. madagascariensis. Chemical analysis of serum and histopathology of liver and kidney from test animals were performed to determine the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and creatinine in serum. In addition, serum albumin levels were also determined. The levels of ALT, AST and creatinine were found to be high in groups treated with crude extracts compared to the control group, suggesting some damage in liver cells and kidney of treated groups of Wistar rats. The albumin levels in serum samples of crude extract treated groups were found to be low compared to control group, suggesting some leakage to the urine due to damage in the kidney. Histopathological analyses revealed damages in the liver and kidney treated with 1000 mg/kg of crude ethanolic pod extracts of Swartzia madagascariensis (CEPES) at days 2 and 14, corresponding to what was observed in the biochemical variables. The findings revealed that Swartzia madagascariensis pods are toxic once taken in large quantities (1000 mg/kg).

Keywords: Toxicity, Wistar rats, Histopathology, biochemical parameters