Toxicity studies on the leaves of senna alata, a medicinal plant from Burkina Fas, in mice and rats

Abstract

The aim of the work is to study the acute and subacute toxicity of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Senna alata (ED-SA). Extracts doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg of body weight (bw) were administered to the mice for acute toxicity study. The administration volume was 1 ml/100g. A limit test has been carried out to determine the DL50. For subacute toxicity, rats received Senna alata extracts orally for 28 days. The first group to constitute the control received distilled water (solvent for diluting the extracts). Groups 2, 3 and 4 received extracts of S. alata at the respective doses of 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg of body weight; satellite groups 5 and 6 received, respectively, distilled water (satellite control) and extract at the maximum dose of 2000 mg/kg (satellite). The satellite groups were observed 14 days after stopping treatment to assess reversibility to toxicity. The collected serum was used for biochemical assays (ALAT, ASAT, creatinine, total cholesterol, and triglycerides). Plasma has been used to assess the effects of the extract on hematological parameters such as blood cells, red blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin. The acute toxicity assessment of the aqueous extract of Senna alata has shown that the lethal dose 50 (DL50) is greater than 2000 mg/kg, suggesting that the extract would be practically non-toxic at this dose. In subacute toxicity, no major lesion was observed after histological analysis of the liver and kidneys. These results suggest that the aqueous extract of Senna alata does not affect liver and kidney. In conclusion, this study shows that ED-SA is of low toxicity.